No Such Thing As Coincidences?
by EmmyR
Summary: When Charlie Eppes visits and old friend in D.C., the trip quickly turns into a disaster. Will 2 agencies be able to work together and solve this crime?
1. Chapter 1

**I'm back! So, This is my first time posting a Numb3rs fic, and my first crossover fic, so bear with me here! My NCIS muse vanished a while back, and this is my attempt to woo her back so that I can finish A Past Come Back to Haunt. Never fear, I won't ever abandon a story, it just may take a while to finish. **

**This story takes place during season 5 of NCIS and season 4 of Numb3rs. Since my NCIS muse is gone for now, the story may be a bit heavier on the Numb3rs side, but I will try to give as much equal time as possible to both stories.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing! Except this** **laptop...**

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**4 days  
**

**2 Agencies**

**8 Agents**

**1 mathematician **

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Charlie was packing a bag, and looked annoyingly at his older brother, Don. "Don, I've had this trip planned for a week now. I'm not canceling it. You have heard of cell phones, right? Email? There are a lot of ways to get a hold of me if Amita can't figure out a way to help. I've given you all of the information that I know. If that isn't enough, you can get a hold of me." He zipped his duffle and grabbed his laptop bag.

Don nearly laughed as his brother picked up both bags. His carry on laptop bag was the same size as his bag that he was going to check. His brother was never without that laptop, though this time, that was probably a good thing if they needed to get a hold of him. "Are you sure you can't hold off on the trip until the case is cleared?" He was begging here, and he knew it. Hated it as well. How long had it been that he was relying on his brother to do his job for him? He didn't like this, but there was a lot of computer work involved in this case, and Forensics was backed up with the Russell Labs embezzlement case.

Just as Charlie was about to answer, his cell rang. Looking at Don, he answered. "Charlie Eppes. Hey, McGee how's DC? I know, just wondering if I need to bring my coat. That's true; LA has turned me into a wuss for the cold East weather. Yeah, my flight schedule hasn't changed," he said, directing that to Don as much to the Agent on the phone. "Thanks, I appreciate you willing to pick me up. Should I call you when I land?" Then he laughed. "Very true, you'd know if I was running late before I would. Okay, I'll see you soon," he said and hung up the phone.

"Charlie…" Don tried one last time, but Charlie interrupted.

"Don, I'm sorry that this timeline got so messed up, I wasn't expecting this case to take so long. But I haven't seen Tim in years; last time I saw him was at MIT when I was giving a lecture and he was getting another degree. He's going to pick me up at the airport unless he gets called out on a case."

"So, what agency does this guy work for again?" Don asked, giving up. He'd agreed to drive Charlie to the airport so that the mathematician didn't have to leave his car there. The two climbed into the SUV.

"He works for NCIS. He's been a field agent for a few years," Charlie said as they drove off.

"Navy cop?" Don asked with a smile. In truth, he had nothing against NCIS. He hadn't worked with them personally, but some of his agents had, and apparently they were a good sort.

Charlie laughed. "Yep. Wish we had someone like him at the FBI. He's a computer geek, as you would put it, but he's been a field agent for years. I actually talked to him on the phone two years ago. I'd heard that a member of his team was killed during a case, and I was worried it was him."

Don winced. He didn't know what it was like to lose a member of his team, thankfully, but had known enough agents that went down that he didn't envy Charlie's friend. "They were close?"

Charlie sighed. "Yeah, pretty close. He was really broken up about it. She was the only female who treated him like an agent rather than a glorified computer, as he put it."

_That_ hit a little too close to home for him, since he knew a lot of people who thought of Charlie that way. Thankfully his team knew Charlie well enough by now and that wasn't an issue for them. Charlie was a member of the team in his own right after all of the cases he had closed for them. Actually, over the last six months when there had been a lull for the Violent Crimes Squad, Charlie had gotten the team to look at some cold cases that he thought his math could help with. The team hadn't been thrilled, but it was better than paperwork, which is what they would have been doing. Turned out to be a good idea of Charlie's; before they got a new case, they had solved six cold ones. Even some of the other teams started looking at Charlie as part of Team Eppes. He knew that Director Merrick wasn't happy about having Charlie on the team; but after that, there had never been any complaints about using a consultant almost full time for Don's team. So far, they had never failed to close a case with Charlie's help.

"So you'll call me when you land in DC, right?" Don asked, to break the silence.

Charlie couldn't resist rolling his eyes. "Yes, Don. I will call when I get to the hotel. If anything exciting happens, I will call, and I will let you know when I am headed to the airport to come home, so that I know you will pick me up, or send someone to do it if you are out on a case. Oh, and I also left the number for the hotel, Agent McGee's work and cell numbers, too."

Don laughed. He knew that his brother thought he worried for no reason, but he did take it in stride, which Don was grateful for. "Thanks buddy."

Charlie smiled. He loved it when Don called him that. It was a bit childish to be happy about a nickname, but this one had some history to it, and was only pulled out on occasion. "No worries. Just don't be harassing Tim for no reason, I doubt his boss would like an FBI agent hassling one of his team. From what I've heard, the guy makes you look human," he joked.

Laughing with his brother, he pulled up to the airport. "I'll email you if we need some help, or if we manage to close the case."

Charlie nodded, and was about open the door to leave, but was stopped when Don pulled him into a hug. They weren't an affectionate family, though they did love each other, and hugs were rare between the brothers. Charlie squeezed him back, and then opened the door. "I'll see you before you know it, Don. Take care."

"You take care too, Chuck," Don said with a wink, knowing his brother hated the name.

Charlie playfully growled at his older brother before disappearing into security. Don turned the car around to head back to the FBI. He didn't know why, but he had an uneasy feeling about Charlie's trip, and would probably be worried until his brother landed back at LAX.

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**A/N: So, let me know what you think of the idea! Comments and suggestions are always welcome :-)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you to Village-Mystic for being my first review, and to everyone who added this to their alerts!**

**Disclaimer: I still own nothing :-(**

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Agent McGee was sitting at his desk at NCIS. Thankfully, there wasn't a case right now, because he agreed to pick up an old friend from the airport. He hadn't seen Professor Eppes in a long time, though they talked on the phone once in a while, as well as the occasional email. The guy was a genius; there was no doubt about it. It was rather funny, to be honest; a very smart math guy working for the FBI being friends with a computer geek working for NCIS. It was like a really bad TV show. Looking at the time on his computer, he realized he should call Charlie and make sure that he still needed to be picked up. Gibbs wasn't there right then, and Tony and Ziva were doing paperwork. He grabbed his work phone and dialed the number. "Charlie Eppes."

"Hey Charlie, its Tim. It's alright, getting a little chilly though. Yeah, you should probably grab a coat. I was just calling to make sure that you still needed a ride from the airport. It's no problem." Then he laughed. "Charlie if you flight was delayed; I think I'd know about it, wouldn't I? I'll see you in a few hours," he agreed, and hung up. He looked up at his two confused teammates.

Tony, of course was the first to break the silence. "Got a hot date this weekend, McSmooth? I mean, Charlie could be short for Charlotte, unless you swing the other way, which I suppose isn't a problem if you're into that sort of thing…."

"Tony," McGee said warningly. "No, it's not a girl. His name is Dr. Charles Eppes, an old friend of mine from MIT. I haven't seen him since I joined NCIS. Apparently he's made a name for himself at the FBI in LA. He's coming in for a week; I told him I'd show him around. If I bring him here," he started, sending a glare to Tony, "I expect you will behave?"

Ziva laughed. "I will make sure he behaves, McGee. And I am glad that you are seeing an old friend. You really have not seen him in that long?" she asked, knowing how long her friend had been with the agency.

Tim frowned. "No, we've talked though. Phone calls and emails are nice, but I'll be happy to see him again. We talked after his mom died, and he called after Kate."

Tony looked up, shocked. "Why would he call after Kate died? He never met her, did he?" Tony was getting a little alarmed.

McGee shook his head. "No, he never met her. Apparently, he heard that a person on the team got killed and was worried that it might have been me, so he was calling to make sure I was alive."

Ziva smiled. She thought that it was a good thing that her teammate had someone who cared like that. "That sounds like a good friend, even though you have not spoken recently."

Tim nodded, and the three got back to work. It was a slow day; they had closed a case the day before, and had mountains of paperwork to prove it. But McGee had approved it with Gibbs and with Director Shepard that he leave early to pick up Charlie.

He looked up, and before he knew it, it was time to leave for Ronald Regan Airport, which was a pain during rush hour, hence him leaving so early. "Alright, boss, I'm headed out."

"Drive safe, McGee. Have that report on my desk tomorrow," Gibbs said, not lifting his head from the file he held.

McGee drove through traffic, and was glad he'd thought to leave early. When he was a few minutes out, he double checked that the flight had not been delayed, and was glad that it hadn't. He pulled up to a parking spot, and looked around for a familiar face. He smiled when he saw Charlie, who really hadn't changed much in five years. He waved him over, popping the trunk for the duffle, knowing that Charlie wouldn't let the laptop case out of his sight.

"Agent McGee," Charlie greeted with a grin of his own.

"Professor Eppes." Then he laughed. "It's good to see you, Charlie."

"You too, Tim." The two got into the car and took off. "How's life at NCIS treating you?" he asked.

"It's been alright. I really like the team. Well, for the most part," McGee said, hoping that Tony would keep from putting his foot in his mouth if he gave Charlie a tour of NCIS. He couldn't wait to see his friend's reaction to Abby.

"What do you mean?" Charlie asked.

"Well, let's see," he mumbled, trying to remember anything he'd told Charlie the last time they'd spoken. "Did I tell you we replaced Kate?"

Charlie nodded slightly. "Yeah, you weren't sure to make of her. She's Israeli, right?"

"That's right," Tim said, shocked that Charlie remembered. "Her name's Ziva David, and let me tell you something; the woman is lethal. Kind of scary until you get to know her. She was an assassin for Israeli intelligence; her father is the Director of Mossad."

Charlie turned in his seat to stare at McGee. "You mean she's _that _David?" he demanded.

McGee turned to stare at his friend as well. "What do you mean?"

"I know that Eli David has a daughter, and I've heard all kinds of crazy stories, but I never thought that he would let his daughter be a liaison to an American agency."

McGee was thinking at warp speed: his specialty. "Wait, how do you know Director David?"

Charlie shifted slightly. "Tim, I have high security clearance. Actually, it's more like stratospheric clearance. I know the heads of most intelligence agencies around the world. David is certainly not my favorite, but I've met worse," he said diplomatically. In truth, he'd met Ziva once, though he doubted she'd remember him. He really didn't like Eli after seeing how he treated his daughter, as though she was just another expendable agent.

"Wow," was all Tim could say. "It sounds like we have a lot to catch up on."

Charlie laughed, trying to lighten the mood. "That is, unless you get called out on a case, right? Trust me; I've worked with the FBI enough to know that you never have an idea when a case will come."

Tim grinned. "That's true. We just finished a case yesterday, though, so we may have a break for a bit, long enough for me to show you around."

"Knock on wood," Charlie said with a smile. He had brought plenty to keep him busy just to be on the safe side, though he hoped that he got to spend some time with Tim. Who knows, maybe if there was a case, he could help out on it. It had been a while since he'd been stuck on the sidelines during a case.

Most of the trip was spent in silence until they pulled up to the hotel. "So, do you have dinner plans for tonight?" he asked.

Tim shook his head. "Figured I'd see if you had jet lag and wanted to go somewhere. Papa Dons has great pizza if you are interested."

Charlie nodded. "Sounds great, though I wouldn't mind a chance to shower and change. If you give me the address, I can meet you there in say, an hour and a half," he offered, and Tim accepted. The two parted ways, and Charlie checked in, then went upstairs.

As soon as he'd closed the door and collapsed onto the bed, he grabbed his cell, and dialed the familiar number.

"Eppes," his brother's usual response greeted him.

"Eppes as well," Charlie joked.

"Hey Chuckles," Don greeted, and laughed at what he knew his brother's face probably looked like at that moment. "How's DC?"

"Cold," Charlie responded. "I just got to the hotel, so I haven't been out yet, but Tim suggested a pizza place nearby that is apparently pretty good, so we'll go out in a little while. How's the case going?" he asked.

"It's going alright. Still have a few leads to run down, but the list you gave us helped out a lot. Hopefully we'll have this one wrapped up in a few days."

Charlie smiled. "I hope so. Let me know what happens with it, alright?"

"What, DC doesn't have enough action for you, you have to keep up the LA drama?" Don teased.

"Jerk. You know that I have to hear how the cases turn out," Charlie protested with a smile.

"I know. Listen, I have to get back to work, but I'll call as soon as I know something, okay?" he asked.

"Sure thing, Don. I'll talk to you soon." He hung up, then stood and grabbed his shower things.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I own neither show, though I like to borrow the characters from time to time :-)**

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Tim got to the pizza place a little early, which wasn't surprising, since he knew a lot of shortcuts. He was about to head to a table when he saw two painfully familiar faces at a table set for four.

"Tony, Ziva, what are you guys doing here?" he demanded.

"What's the matter, McGeek, afraid for us to meet your friend?" Tony asked with a Cheshire wide grin.

"I would not have come, McGee, but I figured you would rather have me here to keep this one on line for you," she said with a smile.

"The term is 'in line', Ziva," Tony corrected with an over dramatic sigh, as though he didn't love pointing out Ziva's English mistakes.

"Alright, just please behave? I haven't seen this guy in years, and I just want this week to go smoothly, alright?"

Both the agents nodded with understanding, though Tony still had his grin on. Tim sat and ordered a drink, and soon enough, Charlie walked in.

Charlie saw Tim, but then stopped at the unexpected sight of two other agents. "McGee?" he asked, curious.

"Sorry, Charlie, I had no idea they'd be here until I showed up," he said, sending the two a glare, though it was a mock glare in Ziva's direction. "Dr. Charles Eppes meet Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo and Officer Ziva David," he said, making the introductions.

Charlie smiled and reached his hand out. "Please, just call me Charlie," he said with a smile.

"Tony," DiNozzo corrected as well, slightly surprised at how amicable this man was.

"You can just call me Ziva," she said with her own smile. She was a little confused, though. The man looked very familiar to her, but she couldn't place him.

Charlie ordered his own drink, and they placed their food orders. "So, Charlie, you look kind of young to be a doctor. What exactly is it that you do?" Ziva asked, taking a sip of her tea.

"I know I look young. I'm a professor of applied mathematics at CalSci in LA, and I also consult for the FBI on a pretty regular basis," he said. Tim had filled him in on the NCIS's feud with the DC FBI team, and thought that this would be interesting.

"You're a professor?" Tony asked incredulously, choosing to ignore the FBI comment. For now. "You don't look old enough to be anything but a student yourself."

Tim kicked Tony under the table, but Charlie laughed. "I get that a lot. You would be surprised at how many students per semester think that I'm just the TA, and not a fully tenured professor. Actually, I graduated high school at thirteen and then went on to Princeton for my Masters and PhDs."

Tony's jaw hung slightly, and Ziva smiled. "How did you and Timothy meet?" she asked politely.

Tim grinned. "Actually, it was while I was a student at MIT."

"Yeah, I was there for a conference on the Eppes Convergence, right after I had it published. And what do you know; I have this guy sitting in the front, challenging everything that I'm saying."

Tony laughed and McGee blushed slightly. "I just wanted to make sure I understood all of it. My specialty is in computer science, but I'd heard so much about the famous Eppes that I couldn't resist going to the lecture. We ended up hanging out the rest of the time he was in town."

Their food got there, and there was silence for a while as everyone dug in. "So, enough about me," Charlie said, before anyone could ask about him further. "Tell me something about your team."

"Well, there's the Boss-man," Tony started. "Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. If you come by the office while you're here, expect a head slap or two. He really doesn't tolerate much foolishness in the squad room."

"Please, like Gibbs would Gibbs-slap Charlie," Ziva protested with a chuckle.

"You never know, David," Tony shot back. "The guy said he works with the FBI. You know how Gibbs feels about them Feds."

Charlie laughed. "I guess it wouldn't do any good to say that I'm just a consultant, not an agent?"

Tony thought for a moment. "Probably not. His best friend, who's an FBI agent, married his ex-wife, and then they got divorced a year later. I think he now hates all FBI on principle."

Charlie grinned again. This was a lot like hanging out with Don and his team. "Okay, so there's Agent Gibbs. Who else is there?"

"Well, let's see?" Tony said. "We have legendary Officer David, terror of Israel. Careful with this one, Eppes. The girl may not look it, but she's as deadly as they come."

"And of course, there's Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo," Ziva started sarcastically. "He's a wonderful investigator, but expect a movie reference or ten anytime you want to hold a conversation."

Charlie laughed. Tony reminded him a little of Colby.

"And of course, there's Probie," Tony said, this time flinching slightly when both Ziva and McGee kicked him under the table.

"Probie? I thought he'd been with the agency for years?" Charlie asked, sending his friend a grin.

"I have been, but apparently habits are tough to break for the man," Tim said. "There's Abby. Honestly, that's one you need to watch out for. She's our Forensics expert."

"And 100% Goth," Tony added with a smile. "No one believes that she's an expert until she starts talking, and then the trick is to get her to stop."

"And lastly, there's Ducky," Ziva said. "Also known as Dr. Mallard, but he will insist you call him Ducky. I have yet to get that story from anyone, though few seem to know it."

"No one knows, just Gibbs and the Duck man himself," Tim said.

Charlie nodded. They were a very wide ranging group of people, which was probably why they were so good at their jobs. Before he knew it, it was time to head back to the hotel. He may be on fall break, but the agents still had to report for duty the next day. They all walked out, and Charlie went to flag a cab for himself. Ziva stepped up to him, though. "Mind if I catch a ride with you, Charlie? Should save on money, since cabs can be expensive."

Tony was confused, but McGee understood that there was something there. Ziva had been nothing but polite to the guy, but he could tell something was bothering her. Add in the fact that apparently Charlie knew her father, and he knew that the two needed to talk. So he grabbed Tony's arm to lead him away.

"I'll call you tomorrow when I get off work, sound good, Charlie?" he asked, and received a nod.

Charlie looked at Ziva. "Sharing a cab sounds like a good idea," he said, knowing that she had in fact recognized him.

Ziva was about to say something when she noticed movement behind Charlie. She turned around to look behind herself in time to catch a guy before he went to hit her with the butt of a gun. She swiped his arm away and jabbed him in the throat. Then she grabbed the gun from his hand while he tried to catch his breath, and clocked him on the temple with it. He dropped like a bag of rocks. She turned in time to hear a groan from Charlie the same time she heard the familiar sound of metal hitting flesh. She managed to see him almost fall to the ground, a man standing behind him holding him up as a human shield. Ziva raised the unfamiliar gun she still had in her hands. "NCIS, let him go," she ordered, wishing that the other two hadn't left already.

"I don't think so, Officer David," the man said, and she noticed that the accent was Israeli. The man had a gun aimed at her, and an arm was wrapped around Charlie's throat, holding him up as well and threatening to break it.

Before she could say anything else, she felt more than heard someone behind her. She took her eyes off of the kidnapper and turned to her new target. It was without a doubt, this guy was trained in Krav-Maga. Though she wasn't the best for no reason. Just as she was about to take him down, she heard screeching tires, and turned so that she could still see her assailant, but also had time to see the other man pulling Charlie into a black SUV. The man she had been fighting turned and leapt into the car. One of them took a few shots at her, one of the bullets grazing her shoulder rather deeply, but she ignored it as she rolled out of the way. She got off a few shots, but only knocked out the taillights. She did manage to get the license plate. Then she turned to look for the man she knocked out, but he was gone. Probably had woken back up during the other fight and took off, wanting to make sure that he wasn't arrested.

_Fuck_, she though. This was bad, this was very very bad.

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**Yay, we finally have action! My numb3rs muse must be fairly happy right now, I'll see if I can keep her that way.**


	4. Chapter 4

_Fuck, she though. This was bad, this was very very bad_. Without even thinking about it, she pulled out her cell. "DiNozzo," she heard.

"Tony it's me, get your asses back to the restaurant. Charlie was just kidnapped, we have shots fired!" she yelled into the phone, knowing that he was probably still with Tim. She quickly hung up the phone and then dialed her team leader.

"Yeah, Gibbs," she heard the familiar answer.

She gasped in pain as the wound finally registered. "Boss, its Ziva. Listen, I was with Tim's friend, Charlie outside of the restaurant, we were going to catch a cab together. But then he was taken and we have shots fired. I managed to get the plates, though," she added, hissing again.

Gibbs was already up and out the door. "Ziva, answer me honestly or I swear I will have you riding a desk for a year: are you hurt?" he demanded as he jumped into his car.

"I have a graze, nothing serious," she told him, hoping that it was true.

"Where are you?" he demanded. Why did he have to have such stubborn assed agents?

"Papa Don's, it's on Third," she told him.

"I'm calling Ducky to meet us back at NCIS, he's looking at you, don't even try to argue, David," he ordered.

Ziva sighed. She knew when not to argue. "Alright. Tony and Tim should be back here soon, I'll do what I can about securing the scene."

"You'll do no such thing, Ziva. You are injured, and are going to wait for one of us to get there. I'll see you in a minute. And that is an order, Ziva," he said warningly before hanging up. Great, just what he needed. One of his agents gets attacked, and some FBI consultant gets kidnapped. That meant he had to deal with the FBI again, but damn it, it was his agent that was injured, there was no way he was going to give up this case. He would have to settle for a joint investigation, they had done it before. But he knew that not only would Fornell be involved, but so would the LA team, since it was their consultant.

Tony stared at the phone in shock. They were about two blocks away, but hadn't heard the shots, since they were standing outside of a noisy club that was blaring its music. He looked at Tim in alarm.

"What is it?" McGee demanded as Tony took off in the direction they came. "Tony, what did she say?"

"Your buddy just got snatched!" DiNozzo yelled, and they both sprinted for the place they had just left.

Tim's breath caught. Charlie was kidnapped? He just saw the man less than five minutes ago. They made it back to the restaurant less than a minute later, and found Ziva leaning against the street sign, holding her arm, which was bleeding.

"Ziva!" Tony yelled, running over to her. "What the hell happened?"

"I would like to know that myself," she responded coldly. Then she held out the gun. "This will go to Abby, it was one of their kidnappers' guns," she told him as he took it.

"How bad is it," McGee asked. He was concerned for Charlie, of course, but this was the woman he'd known for years.

"Not bad, just a graze. Ducky will be at NCIS soon, and Gibbs will surely send me there to get it fixed up," she answered.

"You already called Gibbs?" Tony asked.

"Of course, soon as I got off the phone with you," Ziva snapped. She was not liking this, not at all. Charlie had seemed very familiar to her, and then he was grabbed by Israelis.

It was only a moment later that Gibbs pulled up and leapt out of the car. "Ziva!" he yelled, running over. He stopped in front of her, and gently pulled her hand away to look at the graze. "That's bleeding badly. McGee, take her to Ducky," he ordered, then glared at Ziva, daring her to object. But she was smarter than that.

"I managed to get one of the guys' guns," she told him, gesturing to the one Tony had. "Should I take that and get it to Abby?" she asked. "I also got the plates for the SUV that grabbed Eppes, I can get that to her as well."

Tony handed the gun to McGee, who took it and looked at Gibbs. "Give that to Abby, and tell her the plates WHILE you are getting looked at," he barked, then turned to look at the scene. He pulled out his cell to call it in. He would deal with the call to the FBI in a bit, knowing that he would be having a long distance call. Fornell would have to deal with watching from the sidelines on this one.

Ziva and McGee left the scene and hurried to NCIS. Once there, Ziva went straight to Autopsy, and Tim went to see Abby.

"Abby," he called as he hurried in. Thankfully, she was still there, had just started turning off the machines.

"McGee!" she cried happily. "I thought you were spending the evening with your friend from LA?" she asked, then looked at the gun in his hands. "What's that?" she asked quietly.

"Abby, my friend, Charlie, was kidnapped. Ziva was shot at. This is the gun she got off of one of the guys. We need you to run it ASAP. She also got the plates, which I can look up while you do this," he told her quickly.

Abby stared at him for a moment, hoping that he was kidding, but she could tell that he wasn't. "Is Ziva alright?" she asked worriedly. Ziva and Abby hadn't been close at first, but that had changed over the last few years, and she found she was very concerned about the Israeli.

"She's with Ducky right now. She was grazed by one of the bullets, but she'll be fine," McGee said, laying the gun on the table and went over to power up one of the computers.

Abby stared at him for a moment. She could tell that he was worried, not just about Ziva, but about Charlie as well. She hurried to grab a fresh pair of gloves and got to work.

"Ducky?" Ziva called as she entered Autopsy.

"Ziva, my dear, sit, quickly," the grandfatherly man said. "Let me take a look."

Ziva gently peeled off her jacket, and unbuttoned the shirt. She was a little miffed, as she really liked the shirt, but that was a silly thing to think about right now.

Ducky sighed as he looked at the graze. "You got lucky, you know that? I had a friend once, who…" and he was off, telling a story about a friend of his that was in a similar situation as he pulled out the necessary instruments needed.

Gibbs had finished securing the scene with Tony, and glanced at his watch. It was a little after midnight. He growled; Fornell was a bastard at the best of times, but being woken in the middle of the night with a crime scene that he was going to take was not good, he knew from experience. He dialed the number, and pressed it to his ear.

"Fornell, and you'd better have a good reason for calling this late," the man answered.

"Tobias, got a crime scene, though you aren't going to like it," Gibbs answered.

The FBI agent got out of bed and turned on the light. "Funny, I don't ever remember liking it when you tell me you have a crime scene."

"True, but this is worse."

"How much worse," he demanded.

"FBI consultant out of LA got snatched, and Ziva was shot at," he answered.

Fornell swore under his breath. "Great, so I have to tell the AD in LA, who will tell this guy's team, and I know that you won't give up your scene, am I right?"

Gibbs stared through the phone. "You are actually going to ask me that when I have an agent with a bullet graze on her arm."

"Yeah, yeah," Fornell answered. He knew his friend well; the man took care of his agents, there was no question about that. "I'll call the AD. What are the chances that I will actually have a part of this investigation?"

Gibbs grinned. "Slim to none. We'll keep you up to date, but something tells me that the LA team will want to take over as soon as they get here. I'm not giving it up, but I'll settle for a joint investigation."

"That's the best I could ask for, Jethro."

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**A/N: Thoughts now that the plot is picking up?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, though I do enjoy borrowing the characters :-D**

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Don had just crawled into bed at home. They had caught the perp a few hours ago. David had ID'd the guy right after Don had hung up the phone with Charlie, and they had him in interrogation less than two hours after that. One hour of Colby putting the pressure on the guy and he'd cracked. Don had told his team to take the rest of the night off; that he could wait until the following day for the reports.

Then his cell phone went off. He growled as he grabbed it. "Eppes," he snapped.

"Agent Eppes, this is AD Wright," the man answered.

Don sat up in bed, now wide awake. "Sir?" was all he could ask.

"I need you and your team at the office. Now," he ordered, and he heard a click.

Don stared at the phone, in bewilderment. The case had been closed, a signed confession stating it. Had something gone wrong? He couldn't think of anything, which meant that something else happened. But what would warrant the AD calling him at 2 in the morning? He dialed Colby's number as he started to get dressed.

"Don, I thought we had the night off," Colby answered, sounding half asleep.

"So did I, Granger," he replied, trying to button his shirt with one hand.

"We have another case already?" Colby asked, not in the mood.

"You could say that. Wright just called, said the team needs to be at the FBI right now."

Colby, as well, was now wide awake. "Wright called? He never calls agents, especially not in the middle of the night," he protested.

"Thank you, Colby, I hadn't figured that out," Don said sarcastically. "Look, I don't know what's going on any more than you do. Just get up and call David, I'll call Megan."

"You got it, Don. I'll see you at headquarters in a few," Colby said as he hung up.

Twenty minutes later, the four agents pulled into the parking lot at the same time. Megan stepped out, yawning. "Anyone have any ideas what's going on?" she asked, and the other three shook their heads. They went inside and got into the elevator, taking it up to the top floor where the AD's office was. They all knew that something was going on. Agents only went to this floor for two reasons: a promotion, or being fired. Their bust was good, but not that good. But they'd had a solid case, so the second option also seemed unlikely.

As soon as they'd stepped inside, Wright waved them forward from his doorway. "Get in here," he ordered. He, too, was sleep deprived, and was unhappy at being called out this late at night.

The four agents filed in, looking nervously at each other. Wright decided to break the silence. "I suppose you are all wondering why I called you in at this God forsaken hour," he stated, and received four nods. "I just got a call from AD Brown out of DC," he told them.

Don's heart, which had been racing, stopped. Charlie was in DC. What the hell? "DC, sir?" he heard himself ask.

"Charles Eppes was having dinner with some NCIS agents this evening, when three Israelis grabbed him, shooting at one of the agents. I have orders to fly you four out to DC tonight to help with the search to find him."

Don's face hardened. Rage coursed through him. "Charlie's been kidnapped?" he demanded. "They have any idea what these guys want? They know who it was?"

Wright shook his head. "No idea, to either of those. NCIS is probably already on the case. You will be having a joint investigation with NCIS, and the DC FBI will help, but not interfere. Brown already booked you four seats on a six am flight out of LAX. Agent Tobias Fornell will pick you up and take you to NCIS headquarters." He could tell that the entire team was furious and scared, but Don was pissed.

For once, Don's anger wasn't helping his thought process. When Megan had been kidnapped, everything was clear: what he needed to do and when he needed to do it. But right now, his anger and fear were battling for dominance, and he couldn't think of what to do.

Megan realized that her boss wasn't up to saying much at that moment, so she looked at the AD. "We'll be on that flight, sir. You want updates?" she asked briskly.

Wright nodded. "Every two days. You'll be keeping Fornell and his team in the loop, but they have orders to stay out of it unless you ask for them." He glared at the agents. "I had to pull some strings to do that, so don't disappoint," he warned, then took his leave.

David and Megan looked at each other in shock; Colby was looking worriedly at Don, who hadn't spoken yet. He looked at his teammates for help.

"Don," Megan said, turning him to face her. He was stiff, his mind still not having caught up yet. "We'll find him, okay? We have our team, the DC FBI, and NCIS. With that many agents looking, there's no way we _won't_ find him."

Don nodded, and they left the office in silence. They all agreed to take one car to each person's house to get their things, so that only the one car would be left at the airport. Don insisted on making one extra trip though. "We have to stop by my dad's. I need to tell him what's going on," he insisted, and the other's agreed, or at least didn't argue.

Before they knew it, they were on the plane, getting ready for takeoff. They had agreed that they should get some sleep on the flight, but all were too keyed up to get more than an hour or so of shut eye. Don couldn't help thinking about his conversation with his father.

"_Dad, wake up, I need to talk to you," Don had said, shaking his father. _

"_Donnie?" Alan asked, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "What are you doing here?"_

"_I need to talk to you, come downstairs, Megan has coffee brewing," he said, then left his father to get up. _

_Less than two minutes later, all the agents and Alan were sitting at the table. "Alright, spill. What is going on?" Alan demanded. _

"_Dad, Charlie was kidnapped," Don whispered._

_Alan dropped the mug of coffee and David hurried to get some towels to clean it up. "What did you say?" _

"_I'm sorry dad. The FBI in DC called us in to help find him; we're flying out in an hour. I just wanted to let you know before we left."_

_Alan stared at the table. He always worried that something would happen to one of his sons, but this was his nightmares meeting reality. "Bring him back, Don," he ordered in a hoarse voice. Then, as though someone else was speaking, he continued. "But if you can't, make sure that you get back safe."_

_Don stared at his father, wondering if words really could cut you up into tiny pieces, because that was what it felt like. "I'll bring him back, Dad. I promise you."_

Don was staring out the window, sucking down another coffee, and then looked over at his team. David was gripping the armrest, knuckles white. Out of all of the agents, David had known Charlie the longest, and was not afraid to show that he was scared for his friend. Colby was fidgeting. A man of action, Colby did not like waiting around instead of doing something, though there was nothing he could just yet. Megan could have been asleep, he wasn't sure. She was sitting with her eyes closed, but he saw the lines of worry on her forehead.

Thankfully, the pilot announced that they were beginning their descent into Ronald Regan airport. Less than twenty minutes later, they were walking out, looking like the feds that they were. Though they were in street clothes, they had changed into their FBI jackets, had their badges showing, and the telltale bulges for their guns. An older man in a suit came up to them. "The team from LA, I take it?" he demanded, and the four nodded, even though it was obvious. "I'm Agent Fornell, I'll be taking you to NCIS, and you'll be briefed there. This is Agent Saks," he said, pointing to the man next to him who looked as though the team had personally offended him.

Don nodded. "I'm Agent Eppes; this is Sinclair, Granger, and Reeves."

Fornell just nodded again and lead the way to the SUV. As they all got in, Saks took the wheel and drove towards NCIS.

"You guys hear anything about Agent Gibbs?" Fornell asked. When he saw all four shake their heads, he continued. "Watch out. The guy is a hard ass; his protection of his cases is only outstripped by his protectiveness for his agents. One of them got shot by the same guys that took your man. Just keep an eye on the guy," Fornell warned.

Don nodded, though he didn't really care. All he wanted was his brother in front of him again. Leave the politics to someone who gives a damn, he thought.

The drive was only forty minutes, though it felt like hours. Saks pulled up to the building. "If you guys need us, give us a call. We'll be expecting reports," Saks said, glaring at them, though he held out a business card. David took the card, and they entered NCIS.

* * *

**A/N: Yet another update for all you in cyber land! Thanks to everyone who's been adding this story to alerts and favorites, they make my day! Let me know what you think so far :-)  
**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: So, this chapter is a bit longer than the usual, so I hope you like it. I know that this one will seem a bit more farfetched, but it demanded to be written, so I had to acquiesce. ****Plus, this is where the title becomes a bit more clear :-)**

**Disclaimer: ****As always, I still own nothing, though I really wish I did. Any chance the Eppes brothers are for sale? (okay, that sounds a bit wrong, but you know what I mean)**

* * *

Gibbs was pacing the squad room. Ziva was asleep on Abby's couch, thanks to Ducky's pain meds. The others were also taking a quick snooze at their desks. He checked his watch for the millionth time, and realized that the FBI agents from LA would be there soon. He stopped in the middle of the room. "McGee, DiNozzo!" he barked, and the two shot up.

"On it, boss!" they chorused as they stood, and Gibbs smirked.

"The LA agents will be here soon. DiNozzo, call down to Abby and Ziva, wake them up," he ordered. "McGee, pull up what we have so far on the plasma."

"On it, boss," they chorused again, and went to it, Tony on the phone, and McGee on the computer. No sooner had Tony hung up the phone, and the information had appeared on the plasma, that the elevator dinged, and four agents strode in, their duffle bags over their shoulders. Gibbs could tell that this was not a team content with sitting at desks; this was a field team. Usually, the FBI agents he knew were impeccable, wearing suits, and looking ready for court. These agents, however, were ready to get down and dirty: wearing jeans, casual shirts, and FBI jackets; they looked ready for a firefight. Actually, they looked like they wanted a firefight, but he had to give them that. Whenever one of his agents was missing, he knew that he would move heaven and earth to find them. This guy may just be a consultant, but he had apparently earned a spot on their team.

"LA team, I take it?" he asked, turning to face them.

Don nodded, and each of them dropped their bags. Hell, he didn't even know if there was a hotel for them, but right now that didn't matter. "I'm Special Agent Don Eppes; these are Special Agents Colby Granger, Megan Reeves, and David Sinclair."

Gibbs gave him a curt nod. "I'm Special Agent Jethro Gibbs, these are Special Agents Anthony DiNozzo and Timothy McGee, and Officer Ziva David will be joining us shortly."

Suddenly, there was a lot of noise, and a lot of very confused agents. Everyone started talking at once, and Gibbs whistled loudly. "What the hell?" he demanded, staring at his own agents. "One at a time."

"Sorry boss," Tony started, "but you are really Megan Reeves?" he asked, staring at Megan.

"Tony?" she asked, disbelievingly. "I haven't seen you in…"

"Two years," he answered, just as amazed.

Suddenly, Colby broke in. He had just gotten a good look at who they were talking to. "Gibbs?" he demanded.

Gibbs turned to look at the man that sounded as though knew him. He stared at the man. "Granger?" he demanded.

Colby stared as well. "This is your team?" he demanded, though he looked slightly happier.

Just then, the elevators dinged, and Ziva walked in, then stopped dead in her tracks. "David?" she asked in wonderment, wondering if the drugs were making her hallucinate.

David turned to look. "Ziva? Ziva David?" he asked.

Don was feeling very confused at this point, and broke in before other people started repeating names. "Hold up a minute," he demanded, and his agents turned quickly to look at him. "Okay, so let me get this straight. Megan, you know Agent DiNozzo?" he asked.

"Yes, we met a few years ago when I came back East to visit my father. Tony was in Boston visiting some old buddies. We met at a bar and started talking. Haven't seen each other since."

Gibbs looked to Tony for confirmation, and he nodded, looking very confused.

But Don wasn't done yet. "David, you know this officer?" he asked, already getting a headache.

"I told you my first posting was in Tel Aviv, and that I got some bomb training, right?" he asked, and Don nodded. "Ziva was my instructor. Thought she was a little young, but she knew bombs better than anyone I've met before."

Again, Gibbs looked at Ziva, who was feeling very confused. In fifteen hours, she had met two people from her past, though only one that she remembered meeting. She nodded at the unasked question.

Finally, Don looked at Colby, and didn't even bother to ask. Colby nodded, and then looked at Gibbs. "It was in Kandahar. My unit was there getting some training from snipers. I met Gibbs during that tour."

Gibbs stared hard at the man. He had met a lot of Marines. "You're not a Marine," he barked.

Colby shook his head. "Army Ranger," he corrected. "You came by the camp one day, gave a quick lesson on sniping techniques, then left."

Gibbs suddenly remembered that day, and could place the name with the face. "Yeah, I remember you," he grumbled. Well, this was an interesting development. McGee knew Charlie, Ziva knew Sinclair, Tony knew Reeves, and he knew Granger. Wait a second.

"You said your name is Eppes?" he demanded, looking again at the team leader, deciding to ignore for now that everyone knew each other.

"That's right," Don answered stiffly. Something told him that he wasn't about to like the next thing this guy said.

"Any relation to our vic?" he demanded.

Don sighed, knowing that this was coming. "Yeah, he's my brother, Charlie. But he is the Bureau's top consultant, is responsible for helping close over a hundred and fifty cases." His agents nodded with him, telling Gibbs that this was not an exaggeration.

Gibbs sighed. Why couldn't this have been an easy case? Why did he always have to get the tough ones?

Don nodded at the man. He could relate to the likely monster sized headache the man was now fighting. "Why don't you tell us what you know so far? I'm afraid my team and I are still in the dark, a place we don't like to be when a teammate has been missing for," Don checked his watch, "almost fourteen hours now."

"Fifteen," Ziva corrected quietly, and the FBI agents glared at her, then Don turned his attention back to Gibbs.

"Well?" he demanded.

Gibbs stiffened. This was his office, not some FBI agent's. "McGee," he barked again. Then he turned his attention to the screen, gesturing all the agents forward. "Officer David managed to get a weapon off of one of the suspects. The number was filed off, but our forensic expert managed to get some prints off. She's running them through every data base she can, we're just waiting on the results. Ziva also managed to get the plates of the SUV that grabbed your consultant." McGee pulled up the appropriate document. "Vehicle was stolen off a lot yesterday afternoon, right after your brother landed in DC. We have a BOLO on it."

Don nodded. It wasn't much, yet, but that was alright, they'd worked with less. "Agent Gibbs, can I have a word?" he asked as politely as he could.

Gibbs stared at the man, and then nodded, leading the way to the elevators, leaving the agents to turn to each other and start talking.

As soon as the two team leaders were in the elevator, Gibbs flipped the switch. "Yeah?" Gibbs asked.

Don stared at the man. Not just looking, but trying to get a sense of who he was working with, and knew that this agent was doing the same thing.

"Look, I know that you are suspicious about the very clear conflict of interest here," Don started.

Gibbs nodded. "I thought the FBI had rules about working with family."

"They usually do," Don agreed. "However, Charlie is not only my brother and a mathematician, he is a certified genius. He started Princeton at age thirteen, and at thirty, he has multiple degrees, is a tenured professor at CalSci, and has a security clearance that is probably higher than both of ours put together. So, you combine that with a team that is open minded enough to accept help from a mathematician, and Wright allowed it."

Gibbs was thinking hard, and certain words were sticking out: genius, highest possible security clearance. Something about this wasn't adding up.

"Look Eppes, this situation is as clear as mud. Clearly our teams know each other. Maybe not well, but they do, which is strange, because I've never believed in coincidence, only facts."

Don laughed, and then grinned when Gibbs looked at him. "Sorry, I was just thinking that you would probably get along with Charlie. He's always telling us that there are no coincidences, just probabilities, whether they are low or high."

Gibbs nodded, it sounds like he would enjoy talking to this man. But first they had to get him back. "Anyway," he continued. "We both want the same thing here: find your brother, and put the men who took him and shot at my team in prison for as long as we can."

Nodding, Don agreed. "Pretty much. We'll be out of your hair as soon as we can, but I'm not leaving DC without my brother. Who's taking lead on this?" he asked, knowing that they couldn't avoid the minefield any longer.

Gibbs glared. "Joint operation, so we both lead. If there's a problem, we'll deal with it then."

Don shrugged." Sounds good to me. You want to pair them up by who knows whom?" he asked, and Gibbs agreed, and then flipped the switch back on.

Walking back into the squad room, Tony spoke up. "Gibbs, we have a possible motive," he called, and the two leaders hurried over.

"What?" Gibbs asked.

Tony looked at Ziva, who was holding her shoulder. "I know Charlie from somewhere, I just cannot place it, and I know it was not here in the states, but I have been all over the world. The guys who grabbed him are Israeli, I could tell by their accents," she told them quickly.

McGee stepped in. "Charlie said something about knowing your father, Ziva," he said quietly.

Ziva stared at him. "What?"

"When I picked him up from the airport, he asked about the team, I told him about you and Tony. Then I mentioned that you're from Israel and who your father is, and he said 'You mean she's that David?' When I asked him about it, he said that he'd met your father once, since he does a lot of work with international intelligence agencies."

Don turned to Megan. "I want you on Charlie's history. Find out where all he's been over the last ten years. I want to know every country he's been to, which agency told him to go there, and what exactly he was doing there."

McGee stepped in. "I can help with that. I'm sure you'll get stonewalled somewhere and could use a hacker. Not that I'll be doing anything illegal," he said pointedly, looking at the FBI agents. His own team was too used to it to care, but he wasn't about to be arrested for trying to get their consultant back.

But he needn't have worried. Don just grinned and nodded. "Sounds like a good idea. You two are together for now. David, why don't you work with Officer David – wow, that's going to get confusing – and put those prints through every data base that the FBI and NCIS has. Officer, I'm guessing that you speak more than one language?"

Ziva nodded, wondering where he was going with that. "Just in case the perps have committed crimes in other countries, I want the two of you to contact anyone you have to, just get me a name and a face to go with those prints." Ziva nodded and smiled at David.

But Don wasn't done yet. "Gibbs, you and Granger want to head to that car lot, find out if there's any evidence the perps may have left there?" He didn't really want to give orders to this man, but time was running out, since the first several hours were critical, and just getting his team to DC took longer than they would have liked.

Gibbs nodded. He knew when to accept something, and this man was going to be like a force of nature until the consultant was found. "What about you and Agent DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked.

Don looked at Tony, and thought hard. "I want to see the scene where the attack took place, maybe there is something that was missed that we'll see now that it's light out," Don said. Then he paused, thinking. "You were shot at, right?" he asked Ziva.

Ziva frowned; she wasn't sure where he was going with this. "I can still do my job, Agent Eppes," she said frostily.

Eppes raised his hands in surrender. "Would never think of suggesting anything else. I was thinking also about the casings that would have been left. Was there more than one shot?" he asked.

Ziva nodded in understanding. "There were multiple shots fired. Abby is looking at the casings now, she is a ballistics expert. She will know something soon."

Don nodded, and then looked at his current partner. "I should probably let you drive, if you'd like. I don't know DC very well," he confessed.

Tony grinned. "No worries, I do," he said, and pulled out his keys.

Don paused before they left. "I want a report as soon as any of you have one," he ordered, knowing that this order was useless, since they would have anyway. "I don't care if you think it isn't important, better safe than sorry."

Gibbs glared at his team, telling them the same thing, just without words. The four agents: Eppes, DiNozzo, Gibbs, and Colby all left as one, though they were headed in two different directions.

* * *

**A/N: Thoughts? Liked it, hated it? Let me know!**


	7. Chapter 7

**This is turning into a monster of a story, the characters are all insisting that I keep typing till my fingers fall off. Not that I'm complaining, I'm enjoying where this is going. Hope you all are, too!**

**There is a spoiler for the episode Chinese Box during this update :-)  
**

* * *

Fighting against the urge to throw up, Charlie looked around the room he was in. There was the chair he was tied to, concrete floor – which was freezing on his bare feet – with a small rug by the door, and a window close to the ceiling. Considering how far it was from him, Charlie estimated that should he get free from the ropes, he had a 61% chance of making it out the window. Not very good odds. Charlie sighed, and then remembered why that was a bad idea. The men who grabbed him had kicked him a few times in the ribs, making breathing slightly more painful. He jumped slightly as he heard voices coming towards him, then the door opened.

"Dr. Charles Edward Eppes," the man in front said. "Professor at the California Institute of Science, and also consultant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, correct?"

Charlie nodded slightly. "That is correct," he said.

"How long have you been working with NCIS?" he asked.

Shaking his head, Charlie objected. "I have never worked for NCIS," he started, and one of the guards came forward and punched him hard on the mouth.

Charlie tried not to scream as blood filled his mouth. He spat out quickly to make sure he still had room to breathe.

"Do not lie to me," the man said. "I shall ask again, how long have you worked with NCIS?"

Charlie let his head hang a little, blood dripping out. "I did a project once, a joint effort between CGIS and NCIS, about five years ago. But I have never worked solely for NCIS."

The man sighed. "My name is Asaf Sayar. I know the amount of consulting work an individual such as yourself does on a regular basis. Therefore I must ask myself why you would be in the company of two NCIS agents and a liaison if you are not consulting for them."

Charlie raised his head. "I am in DC to visit an old friend who happens to be an NCIS agent. We had agreed to meet for dinner, and his team decided to join us."

"And the name of your NCIS friend is?"

"Timothy McGee," Charlie answered, and was rewarded with another punch, this one on his eye. Charlie gasped as white lights danced in front of him.

"Dr. Eppes, if you do not start answering my questions correctly, I will start to get very upset with you," Asaf told him.

Charlie shook his head to clear it. "My friend is Agent McGee; we met at MIT several years ago and have stayed in touch since."

Asaf sighed again. "Is there anyone else on that team that you recognized?

Charlie took a deep breath. "No, no one."

This time, the punch brought with it blessed darkness.

* * *

Tony stopped the car a block from the restaurant that the team and Charlie had eaten at the night before. Had it only been that long ago? It seemed like a lot longer than that. He motioned to Agent Eppes to follow him, and started walking towards the restaurant.

"Agent McGee and I were headed towards our cars," Tony said, pointing down the road where they had parked. "Ziva had offered to take a cab with Charlie, so we left them in front of the restaurant. Not five minutes after we'd left, Ziva called me and told me that Charlie was kidnapped, and that there were shots fired, so McGee and I took off for the restaurant."

Don nodded, his eyes sweeping the scene. "And you couldn't hear the shots?" he asked, examining the bullet holes in the wall.

Tony shook his head. "No, we had passed a club that is notorious for playing its music loud enough to register on the Richter scale. We never heard a thing."

Don traced a bullet hole with one of his fingers when something struck him. "Why would Ziva take a cab with Charlie?" he asked. "I mean, she lives in DC, doesn't she have a car?"

Tony shrugged. "We were thinking about that, too. But she probably just wanted to talk to him, find out why he seemed familiar."

Don nodded again, only partly paying attention. He noticed a drop of blood not far from the entrance to the restaurant. At first, he dismissed it as being Ziva's, but then noticed another drop a few feet away from the first. Walking towards it, he saw a trail of blood leading away from the attack; clearly Ziva never would have gone this way. "Tony," he called.

Tony looked over at Don, who seemed to be examining something on the ground. "Yeah?" he asked, walking over.

"Any reason to think that Officer David would have gone this way?" he asked, trying not to get excited.

Tony looked at what the FBI guy was looking at, and grinned. "Nope, she went the other way. So did we."

Don grinned. Finally, something new. "You happen to have a kit on you?" he asked.

Tony nodded. "Didn't think I'd need it, but working for Gibbs, you learn to come prepared," he said, kneeling and getting the kit out.

Don stood, seeing that the agent had it under control. "I'm going to see where this leads, though it's probably a dead end."

Tony nodded to him, concentrating on what he was doing. He had just finished packing it all away into a plastic bag, when he heard Don call his name again. _That's going to get old,_ he though as he hurried over to the FBI agent. But that train of thought immediately left him when he saw Eppes kneeling by a body. Don checked, and found no pulse. "Dead," he told DiNozzo.

* * *

David looked over at Ziva as they were pounding away at the computers. "So, when did you come to NCIS?" he asked conversationally.

Ziva turned and smiled at him. "Two years ago. I was sent to liaise with NCIS, and ended up staying. I would not have it any other way."

David nodded. "Your team certainly does seem close," he commented, double checking each of the parameters for the search.

Ziva laughed. "My team? What about yours?" she asked. "I do not know of many teams that will come clear across the country for a consultant, or even for a boss's brother."

"We haven't thought about Charlie like that in a long time," David told her sharply. "He earned a spot on our team. His work has saved each of our lives at least one time." Here, David paused looking into space. "You know, there was a case, less than a month ago. I was stuck in an elevator, I had traded myself for the hostage the gunman had. Everyone was going crazy trying to figure out how to get me out of there alive, and I was just trying to deal with being the only one the guy would talk to, but not being the shotcaller, since Don was. Later, after everyone had gone home, I found out that Charlie was the one who had convinced Don that giving me the power to make decisions was the smartest move. And it was, since I was able to get us both out of there alive. If Charlie hadn't intervened, I don't know what might have happened." He stopped again, and looked at Ziva. "I know that my team will do anything we have to in order to get him back alive."

Nodding, Ziva turned to look at him. She could tell that he meant every word. She was about to say something when David's cell rang. He hurried to grab it, and answered. "Sinclair."

"David, its Don. Forget about the prints. Turns out Ziva hit a little hard. We found the guy dead less than a block from where the attack took place, down in an old alley. Guy had an ID on him, though it might be a fake. Passport IDs him as Ben Oded. Tony said they have a good ME at NCIS, so we're on our way with the body now. Can one of you let the ME know?"

David was shocked. "Will do, Don. See you in a bit," he said, and hung up, then looked over at a very confused Ziva. "Forget about the prints," he told her.

"What?" Ziva demanded.

"Don and Tony found the guy dead about a block away from the attack. Don said that they're bringing the guy back here, and to tell your ME."

Ziva nodded, still shocked. She would not have thought that her hit was that hard. But she pulled her mind back to the present. "Autopsy is this way," she said, leading the way. They took the elevator down, and walked through a set of glass doors. David wasn't sure what he was expecting, but this man wasn't it.

"Ah, Ziva. How are you feeling?" an older man asked, coming forward to look at her.

Ziva smiled. "I am doing ok, Ducky. This is Special Agent David Sinclair; he is with the LA FBI team that is here."

David stuck out his hand. "Just call me David," he offered.

The man smiled. "Then please, call me Ducky. Now, what is it you came in here for?"

"David just got a call from his boss and Tony saying that they found a body, and told us to let you know that they were on their way."

Ducky smiled warmly at them. "Well, then I should get Mr. Palmer in here, and start getting ready. Thank you, my dear," he said to Ziva.

The two agents left Autopsy, and Ziva led the way. "We will go see how Abby is doing on those casings," she told him, and David nodded.

He didn't know what he expected when he walked into Forensics, but it certainly wasn't this. Music was blaring, and a Goth girl was running around between different machines. Ziva took a quick glance at the expression on David's face and grinned.

"Abby!" she called.

Abby turned around, then grabbed a remote and turned the music down. "Ziva!" she said with a smile. "And who is your tall, dark, and handsome friend?" she asked.

Ziva laughed. "Abby Scuito, meet David Sinclair of the LA FBI office."

"Pleased to meet you, Agent Sinclair," she said in a sultry voice, and David had to choke back a laugh.

"You as well, Ms. Scuito," he said, shaking her hand.

"Please, call me Abby," she said, then laughed. "Very good, Agent Sinclair. You haven't laughed at my attire, nor have you said that I don't look like a forensics expert."

David smiled as he shook his head. "If the last few years have taught me anything, it's that you can't always judge a book by its cover. Just because you have a different sense of fashion than I do doesn't mean that you don't know your stuff." Then he remembered why he was there. "You have anything for us yet?" he asked.

Abby nodded. "Some, but not much. The gun that Ziva brought in doesn't help us much, because its number was filed off, but we did manage to lift a print from the magazine, probably when he was checking his ammo. The casings that were used to fire at her were from a Glock. Without the gun itself, I can't run down the owner, it's a pretty popular gun to use. If you get me the gun, I can definitively match it to the casings."

David nodded. He had hoped for more, but at this point, there wasn't much. "Thank you, Abby," he told her, and he and Ziva left. "Wait," he said, stopping her.

"What is it?" she asked, turning to look at him.

"Don gave us a name for the guy, but he thinks that it might be a fake name. Let's run down the name, see if we can come up with any other aliases for the guy."

Ziva grinned. "I like the way you think, David." She led the way back to the room they had been using, and the two got back to work.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Do you really think these people are mine?**

* * *

Charlie awoke with a groan. He found that he was still tied to the chair, and was alone again. Looking out the window, he realized that it was already past afternoon, going on evening, and stifled another groan. Besides the NCIS team, did anyone else know he was missing? He knew that Tim's team was good, but would they think to contact Don and his team? Charlie hoped so. He didn't know much about the NCIS team, but knew plenty about his brother's. He still didn't know what the kidnappers wanted from him. Clearly it was something to do with Ziva; they were Israeli and clearly knew that he knew her, even though he'd only met her once, which she didn't remember very well. He jumped slightly as the door opened again, and Asaf walked in holding a laptop, one of his minions behind him carry a collapsible table. The man set up the table, and Asaf set the laptop on top of it.

"Well, Dr. Eppes, we have an assignment for you," Asaf told him, gesturing to the laptop. "I know that your first instinct is to refuse to do anything we want of you; however, just remember: the longer you work with us, the longer you stay alive. This first assignment is not even that bad, considering the others we shall have you do."

Charlie shook his head to clear it. "And what is this assignment?" he demanded.

"Hack into Ziva David's email accounts; all of them. We wish to know who she has been contacting, and if you are telling the truth when you say you do not know her. Once you have hacked her email, you shall hack Timothy McGee's as well, simply to let us know that you are telling the truth that it was him you'd come to DC to meet originally."

Charlie thought quickly about this. What Asaf said was true: the longer he played along, the better his chances for someone to find him. But if he gave in right away, it could be just as bad. He knew he would have to do as they asked eventually, but he needed to hold out for a bit longer. He hoped that both Ziva and Tim wouldn't be too pissed when he did hack their emails. But, he had a plan.

He shook his head. "No, I won't do it," he refused, and the muscle man behind Asaf punched him again. Charlie groaned and let his head fall down.

"Listen to reason, Dr. Eppes," Asaf said softly. "This is not such a horrible thing we are asking you to do. There is very little information that we put into email that could hurt anyone. Part of what we are asking is for you to prove to us that you were coming to DC to meet with Agent McGee. Why would you not want to convince us?"

Charlie looked up at his kidnapper, and felt his anger boiling. Without thinking twice about it, he spat a mouthful of blood on Asaf's face.

This time, it wasn't a surprise when the next hit brought blackness.

* * *

Megan and McGee were working diligently. Megan had a notepad in front of her, and McGee was giving her the information she needed. They had managed to start in '97 and were now in '03. It was amazing to her the amount of work her friend had done, and none of them had a clue.

"Alright, we have another one," McGee told her, fingers hitting a few more keys. Megan poised her pen, ready. "Early August '03, Interpol sent him to speak with the head of the Mukhabarat, which is Egyptian intelligence. He was accompanying the American ambassador during their talks. It doesn't say why they wanted him there," he said regretfully.

Megan nodded as she finished writing, then laid a hand on his arm. "Tim, it's not your fault, okay? You had no way of knowing what was going to happen, but you are doing what you can now to try and find him, which is the best you can do."

Tim looked at her and saw nothing but sincerity. He nodded, then turned back to his computer and the job at hand. "Here's something," he said.

Megan looked over his shoulder. "CIA sent him to Tel Aviv in June of '04, then again in July '05. He met with… Eli David, head of Mossad, Israel Intelligence." She turned to look at McGee. "Any relation to your Officer Ziva David?" she asked.

Tim stared at the computer. He had known that Charlie knew Eli David, his friend had said as much the day before, but this was proof. He grabbed the phone, and dialed Ziva's cell.

"Who are you calling?" Megan demanded. Something was wrong.

"Ziva," he said shortly. He heard Ziva's usual answer. "Ziva, its McGee. Can you come up to the squad room really quick? Yeah, okay, see you in a second." He hung up the phone and looked at Megan. "She thinks she recognized Charlie, maybe this is when, and we can find more out about this whole thing."

Megan just nodded, and they waited a few minutes.

Ziva snapped her cell shut, and looked at David, who was staring at her. "Something up?" he asked mildly.

"McGee and Megan asked me to come up. You want to come with me, or stay here and continue working?"

David considered for a moment. "I'll come with you. I want to let them know what Don told us."

Ziva nodded and led the way to the squad room. They walked quickly, both wanting to learn more about what was going on. Ziva looked at McGee's desk as soon as they walked in. "What do you have, McGee?" she demanded, standing over the desk.

McGee hit a few keys. "CIA reports put Charlie in Tel Aviv in June of '04, and July of '05. That was right before you came to NCIS. He was meeting with your father, but it doesn't say why. You remember anything?" he asked desperately.

Ziva closed her eyes and started to remember. "I was on a mission during the summer of '04. But I was in Tel Aviv during '05. One day I was leaving my father's office, I was upset. I had been trying to get information about Ari's mission, but he was being obstinate about it. I was in a hurry to get away from there, and I ran into a man, he was carrying laptop case, and looked confused. He asked where Eli's office was, said he always lost his way. I pointed him in the right direction, and continued on to my rooms." She opened her eyes. "That is where I know him from."

Megan nodded. She had hoped that there would be something more, but it wasn't as though she could help that. "Thank you, Officer David…"

"Please, just call me Ziva," she said with a smile. "It seems we may be working together for a bit."

"Alright Ziva," Megan corrected herself with a smile. "How are you guys coming with the prints?" she asked David.

David jumped into the conversation. "We hadn't been getting anywhere, but then Don called. They found the guy that Ziva had fought; he's dead. Guy had a passport on him that ID'd him, so Ziva and I are running the name down, trying to find out if it's a fake or not. Don said he and Agent DiNozzo are bringing the body back for Ducky."

"Ducky?" Megan asked with a smile.

Tim and Ziva smiled. "Our ME," he explained. "He'll be able to give us information a lot faster than anyone else."

The FBI agents nodded. "Thanks for coming up and giving us the information. Ziva, is there any way you can find out what Charlie was doing in Tel Aviv?" Megan asked quietly.

Ziva shrugged, then winced. "I can try, but my father is taut-lipped."

McGee laughed a bit. "The term is 'tightlipped', Ziva."

"Yes, that. He does not give information easily. But I will try," she said, pulling out her cell and walking away.

David smiled and looked at McGee. "I take it that's normal?" he asked the agent.

"What, correcting her slang?" McGee asked, then laughed. "Yeah, pretty normal. She's been here for a few years now, but still has trouble with the idioms, and never uses contractions. Drives Tony up a wall, pun fully intended."

Megan laughed. "I'll bet." Then she looked at her list. "Well, we still have a little bit left to do before Don gets back. David, how are you guys coming on the fake name?"

"We're not sure it is fake," David said with a frown. "At least, if it is a fake, it's a good one, full history."

Megan frowned. "Doesn't sound like a fake, but keep looking, we'll keep going through Charlie's history."

David nodded and left to hunt down Ziva again, and McGee and Megan got back to work.

* * *

**A/N: Don't worry, the action will pick back up soon, promises!  
**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: Still not mine, though I wish they were**

* * *

Don and Tony pulled back into the NCIS lot, the DCPD van behind them which was escorting the body bag. "Autopsy is this way," Tony waved them forward, Don and the officers following. A short walk later, and they were entering the automated glass doors, and an elderly man greeted them.

"Anthony, I take it this is my newest guest?" he asked, gesturing at the body.

Tony nodded. "That's right, meet Ben Oded, one of the one's who attacked Ziva, helped take Charlie," he said with a frown. "Oh, Ducky, meet Agent Don Eppes from the FBI."

Ducky's frown turned into a smile as he looked at Don. "Good to meet you, son, though not under these circumstances, I'm afraid. Not to worry, Donald, we will find your brother soon, I'm sure of it." With that, Ducky turned to the officers and directed them where to leave the body.

Tony led Don out of the room, and laughed at the look on Don's face. "He always like that?" Don asked.

"Which part?" Tony asked with a grin.

"Well, calling us by our full names? He doesn't even know that my real name is Donald."

Tony laughed. "Yeah, get used to it from him. He rarely calls us by shortened names."

Don nodded, and the two went to the squad room, Don immediately going to Megan. "Got anything?" he asked.

Megan nodded. "David and Ziva are working on the name you gave them, trying to get a history of him. We've got Charlie's travel history, pretty extensive, there's at least one international trip a year over the last ten years," she told him, and sighed when his face darkened. "We did find out how Ziva knows him." She gestured to McGee, who started typing, and Tony and Don leaned forward. "Charlie was in Tel Aviv at the same time Ziva was in July of '05, right before she came here to liaise with NCIS. She says that they met in the hallway outside her father's office, and he asked for directions."

"That's it?" Don asked.

"That's it," Megan sighed again.

Don nodded, then turned as the elevators dinged, and Gibbs and Colby entered the room. "What do you got?" Don asked, and Tony and McGee couldn't help the grin that appeared. Don sounded exactly like Gibbs at that moment.

Gibbs looked at him strangely, then motioned Colby with his hand. "Don, the car lot had no evidence, it was a simple smash and grab. But they gave us the security tapes, maybe we can get something off of it? I remember a while back, LAPD called us in on those robberies, Charlie and Amita wrote a program to clarify images?"

Don nodded. "That's right, they gave the algorithm to Matt in Forensics. Why don't you send him the tape, see how fast he can get to work on it?"

Megan already had her cell out calling their forensics guy to see if he had time to help. She put the call on speaker. "Matt, its Megan. Listen do you have some time to help us out?

"Sure, Agent Reeves. What do you need?"

"Have you heard about Charlie?" Megan asked.

They could hear Matt's nod. "Yeah, all of us have, Merrick sent out a memo that we're to help you if you need anything. What can I do?"

Don smiled slightly. "We have a security tape here, but the quality isn't the best. Think you can use Charlie and Amita's program to get some images?"

Matt smiled. "Sure thing, Agent Eppes. Send it over, I'll get right on it, call you as soon as I have something." He hung up.

Gibbs glared at Don. "Wouldn't it have been faster just to get the algorithm from him, have Abby and McGee look it over?"

Colby grabbed Don's hand, knowing how close his boss was to hurting the nearest person. He spoke hurriedly before Don could. "Yeah, that would have been an option. But Abby and McGee haven't worked with this algorithm before and don't know how to use it. That may have taken too long, so it makes more sense to send it to someone familiar with Charlie's work."

Gibbs nodded. That made sense. "Alright, what else have we got?"

Don stared at the man. "We have a body down on your ME's table, probably getting worked on as we speak. It seems to be one of the men who attacked Officer David last night. We found an ID on him, so David and David are running down the name, trying to find out if it's a fake and if the man had any other aliases." Don looked at Megan. "You said you're done with his history?" At her nod, he held out his hand. "Let me see?" he asked, and she handed over the pad of paper. His eyes skimmed the paper, and he felt his heart sink. For years Charlie had been working with a lot of agencies, going to various countries. NSA, CIA, Interpol, DARPA, CTO, and NATO had sent him to a total of… Don counted ten different countries, 6 of which were in the Middle East. He knew that his brother did a great deal of consulting work; heck, half the time Charlie would run into people he knew while consulting for Don. But this was a lot more than he'd expected, certainly more than Charlie had ever let on about. It was a slight relief, though, to see that over the past few years, since Charlie had started consulting heavily for the FBI, his international trips had drastically slowed.

Gibbs could tell that the man was unsettled, and held out a hand for the pad. Don wordlessly handed it over, and Colby looked over Gibbs's shoulder, paling at what he saw. Charlie had been in Afghanistan only a short while before he was, himself. He pulled back and glanced at Don, who was looking as though someone had pulled the rug out from under him.

Gibbs grunted as he looked over the paper again. "You sure this was a kidnapping?" he asked, and Don's team turned slowly to stare at him. "He seems to have a lot of contact in the Middle East. This could be him trying to disappear long enough to sell something to a contact."

What happened next was too fast for Colby to follow. Don clenched his hand into a fist and drove it into Gibb's face, just as David and Ziva walked in the room. David ran and grabbed Don, pulling him off of Gibbs, and Colby hurried to keep Gibbs back. Megan and the NCIS agents were frozen in shock.

Don was breathing hard in fury, but let David pull him back by his arms. He stared in disbelief at the other agent, who was trying to convince Colby to let him go.

"Let him go, Colby," Don said, and his agent obeyed.

Gibbs wiped a spot of blood off his lip, and glared at the man. The squad room was dead silent as they waited for a reaction from either team. When it was clear that Gibbs wasn't going to say something, David stepped in.

"Someone want to tell me what the hell that was all about?" he demanded, and Ziva looked just as confused, and had a hand on her belt where everyone knew her knife was.

Don was still breathing hard, fighting against the adrenaline, and the urge to pound this agent into the ground. Thankfully, Megan finally regained her bearings. "Colby, take Don outside," she ordered, her voice hard as she stared at the NCIS team leader.

To his credit, Don didn't fight it when Colby grabbed his arm and dragged him from the room, heading for the stairs. Megan stood and walked slowly towards Gibbs, trying to control her own emotions. When she was a few feet away, Tony and Ziva moved slightly to intercept her, and she stopped herself and then them with a glare, showing them that her hands were empty. She stared at Gibbs. "That was a very stupid thing to say, especially around Don," she whispered. "Of course, it was a stupid thing to say period, but especially around Charlie's team, unless you want one of us to say the same thing about your team, that Ziva here is a spy for the Israelis." Gibbs's face darkened at the implications, but he didn't interrupt. "You should realize everything Charlie has done for this country before you claim that he would betray it," she spat, then whirled around, grabbing her bag, and following her team out.

David was still standing where he had been. He was still confused as all hell, wondering what just happened. Tony jerked his head towards the stairs, and David and Ziva followed him.

"What the hell just happened?" David demanded in a whisper as soon as they were out of earshot.

Tony took a breath. "Gibbs was looking at the list of places that your consultant has been over the last ten years, and made some comment about how maybe he wasn't kidnapped, but is trying to disappear long enough to sell information to some contacts."

David turned quickly so that he didn't have the same temptation as Don. He immediately understood Don's reaction, and actually applauded his boss for not doing more damage. He turned back to the NCIS agents. "Thank you for letting me know. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to find my team," he said tightly, and turned, following his team down the stairs.

Ziva sighed as she looked at Tony. "That was why Agent Reeves said that about me, trying to put it in perspective for Gibbs?" she asked, and Tony nodded. Neither knew quite what to feel about this. On the one hand, they were completely against anyone who would want to hurt Gibbs, but on the other hand, he had just crossed a serious line with the FBI agents.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, please don't kill me! All will be explained in due time, I promise! But feel free to let me know what you think :-)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Okay, so no one killed me for the last chapter. Yay!**

**Spoilers for NCIS episode Grace Period**

**Disclaimer: Do I really need to tell you that this isn't mine?**

* * *

Don and Colby exploded out of the building, Don shaking with the aftereffects of adrenaline. He was walking quickly, hands clenching and unclenching. Colby stood close by, ready to protect someone else from Don's rage. After a few minutes, Don calmed down slightly and turned to Colby.

"He wouldn't," Don whispered. "I mean, I had no idea the extent of the consulting work he's done, but I know my brother. He would never sell out his country," he said, pleading with Colby.

Colby clasped a hand on Don's shoulder. "Of course he wouldn't. I may have only known the whiz kid for a fraction of the time you have, but I know that isn't him. If that were the case, he would not have helped out on all the terrorist cases we've had the last few years, or at least wouldn't have given us what we needed to catch them. Gibbs has no idea what he's talking about."

Don nodded. He looked back at the building, and then looked at Colby. "I'm going to check out Charlie's hotel room, see if anyone has been there since last night," he said, then flagged a cab.

Colby watched his boss climb into a cab and take off. As soon as the cab was out of sight, the door to NCIS opened, and Megan and David came out.

"Where's Don?" Megan asked, looking around.

"He's checking out Charlie's hotel room," Colby said quietly. "I'm guessing we'll stay here and get some more work done. You two alright?"

Both the agents stared at him. "Are you kidding me? What right does that bastard have to say something like that about Charlie?" David demanded.

Megan shrugged. "Much as I hate to say it, someone needed to say that. Not that I believe it for even a second," she hurried to say, "and Gibbs was stupid to say that in front of Don, but looking at it from their point of view, Charlie has all the signs of someone who could flip on us. Super high security clearance, lots of trips to the Middle East which we didn't know about…" she trailed off.

"I get that, but this is Charlie we're talking about," David protested. "Everything he does is logical. Like he's always telling us: math is logic. If he had flipped on us, he wouldn't keep up all the work he's done."

"Agreed," a voice said from the doorway.

The agents turned to see Tony leaning against the door. "What?" Megan asked.

"I agree with you guys, and I don't even know the guy except what we've learned and what I've heard you say about him, how I've seen you guys act since you got here."

"So what are you saying?" Colby asked.

Tony stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked at the cars passing by. "You know, there was a case here, a while back," he started. "A fellow agent, a team leader, lost three agents in a bomb. Our team was called in to help solve it. The one thing we all noticed was the obvious clash between that team leader and Ziva. It seemed like Ziva was purposefully baiting her, trying to get her riled up." Tony paused, and focused on the team in front of him. "Gibbs asked her about it later. Turns out Ziva knew exactly what she was doing. She said that the team leader needed someone to be angry at, someone to direct her fury towards, and Ziva had volunteered to be that person." The FBI agents were silent, listening to the story. Tony pushed himself off the wall, but kept his eyes on them. "I'm not saying that I agree with what Gibbs is doing, but I would bet he's doing the same thing, giving your guy a chance to blow off steam while we try to find his brother." Without giving them a chance to respond, he turned and walked back inside the building.

Colby looked at the other two. "You think he's telling the truth?" he asked Megan.

Megan thought for a moment. "It would make sense. Not the smartest thing to do, since Don is actually really good at compartmentalizing, but for someone who doesn't know him… yeah, he's probably telling us the truth."

David nodded, then looked at his watch. "Well, it's already 6. How about we go get some dinner, bring it back for the other agents. That will give everyone a chance to cool off; then we can get back to work."

The others agreed, and they hailed another cab.

* * *

Don walked in the hotel lobby and flashed his badge at the receptionist. "I need the room number and a key for the room for Charles Eppes," he said quickly. The receptionist looked at him, then waved over a man that was likely the manager.

"May I ask what this is about, Agent?" the new man asked.

Don glared at him. "I am an FBI agent, and I need to see Charles Eppes' room, if you please," he repeated himself.

The manager nodded, and hit a few keys on the computer, then grabbed a master card key. "Right this way, sir."

Don followed the man to the room, and the manager opened it for him, and handed him the key. "If there is anything else you need, please don't hesitate to ask," he said, and hurried away.

Don walked in the room. He could tell that his brother had been staying here, since his brother's duffle bag was on the bed, clothes hanging out of it, his toiletries were in the bathroom, and his laptop case on the dresser.

Don took a few steps and opened the case, and saw the laptop inside. Seeing that made everything seem so much more real. This was the laptop that was never out of his brother's sight. He had seen Charlie using it to help them solve cases, had used it while talking with students, emailing Amita. Don carried it reverently over to the bad and placed it in his lap, running his fingers gently over it. He couldn't take it anymore. It had been nearly a full day since his brother was missing and him trying to find him, with absolutely no leads. His eyes filled, and since there was no one around for him to shield his emotions from, he let it go. He sat on his brother's hotel bed, clutching the laptop, and cried. He was learning a lot about his brother today, but that didn't mean he didn't know him.

Don had always worried about bringing his little brother into his work, worried that something would happen to him. Now something had, but it didn't seem to have anything to do with Don's work. After a few minutes, he dried his eyes with his jacket sleeve.

"He must be a good man," a voice said from the doorway, and Don nearly jumped out of his skin, and pulled out his gun. Then he realized that Gibbs was leaning against the doorway holding two cups of coffee, and he put his gun back in his holster.

Don sat back down, moving the laptop further away so that it wouldn't get damaged. Then he glared at the NCIS agent. "I thought you were under the impression he had flipped," Don snarled.

Gibbs sighed and walked into the room, handed one cup to Don; settling down in one of the chairs by the window. "Look, Eppes. We both know why I said that. You needed to get out of the office, get some fresh air, blow off some steam. That doesn't mean I won't pay you back for that punch, though," Gibbs said, glaring at Don. "I said it because it needed to be said. Now that it's been addressed, we can continue on the path we've been taking, trying to get him back." He stood, then gestured with his coffee cup to the laptop. "Besides, if he was giving information, I'd bet he would take that with him."

Don looked back at his brother's laptop, and needed to blink back tears. "I've never seen him without it," he admitted. "No matter if he's at home, the FBI, or at CalSci; it's always with him."

Gibbs nodded and stood. "Exactly." He waved the other man forward, and they left the room.

* * *

**A/N: So, I'm sure some may say that Don was very OOC in this scene, but I thought it appropriate for what's going on. But all the same, let me now what you think.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: Not mine etc etc etc**

* * *

Megan, David, and Colby walked back into NCIS with a few bags on Chinese food. They got into the squad room to see the other three still hard at work, and laughed at the looks on their faces.

"Dinner time?" David joked, and placed the bags on Gibbs' desk. All three NCIS agents came over.

Ziva looked through the bags, surprised that they had thought ahead. Megan looked at her knowingly. "I saw your Star of David," she said, pointing to Ziva's necklace. "I figured you'd appreciate something kosher." Megan pulled out the veggie dish she had gotten for the Israeli.

"Thank you, that is kind," Ziva said, taking it back to her own desk. Tony and McGee hurried over to get their own dishes, and the FBI agents grabbed what was left.

"Anything new?" Megan asked, sitting in one of the extra chairs that Tim had brought up for them. Megan was surprised at how busy the NCIS office had been all day; not just this team, but the others that were running in and out. She hadn't seen Director…Shepard? she thought her name was, but that wasn't surprising. If the NCIS team was in LA, they probably wouldn't have seen Merrick or Wright. But DC was a big city just like LA, so it made sense that they would be busy.

Tony shook his head regretfully. "Nothing yet. Ziva has been working with Abby trying to find more on our dead guy, and Ducky should be done with the autopsy soon."

Megan nodded, then looked at Ziva. "Did you get a hold of your father, find out what Charlie was doing in Tel Aviv?"

Ziva shook her head as well. "He has been busy with heads of state all day. I left a message with his secretary, said that it was a family matter and needed to be addressed as soon as possible. I do not know when he will get back to me, though."

Megan looked down. Sounds like a version of her own father, she thought. "Alright, so we're at an impasse until we get some more information," she clarified, and everyone nodded with her. "Do you think that Abby and Ducky would want some dinner as well?" she asked, gesturing to the extra cartons of food. "We brought plenty."

Tim smiled. "I'll take them down, see if either is interested. That's really kind of you." He left his food on his desk, grabbed the bag and left for the elevators.

Colby looked around, suddenly noticing who was missing. "Uh, where's Gibbs?" he asked.

"Coffee run," Tony said promptly. "You'll find he drinks more than anyone should in a single day."

The FBI agents laughed, thinking of their own coffee maker which ran nonstop for days on end when there was a case. They waved away the questioning looks. Just as silence fell again, Tim walked back in with Abby close behind.

"Where's Gibbs?" Abby asked quickly.

"He is out, Abby? Did you find something?" Ziva asked, standing.

"I found out a lot. The dead guy? Ben Oded? Turns out that's actually the guy's name! He's Israeli, born outside Tel Aviv. Get this, he's Hamas! Tried to infiltrate Mossad, but was rejected, of course. He and a few of his associates moved to the states in August of '05."

"August '05?" David demanded.

"Yep! He was in Tel Aviv the same time Dr. Eppes was, which must be how he knew the professor. I have his address here, its right over in Maryland. He has been seen with Asaf Sayar and Noam Mazar. I have the addresses listed for Oded and Mazar, but there isn't an address listed for Sayar," she said excitedly, and all six agents stood.

"Gear up," Gibbs barked from the elevator. The agents looked over in shock to find both their team leaders walking in together, and no blood to be seen.

"Boss?" Tony asked, shocked.

"Did I stutter, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked.

"Course not, boss," he said, and the NCIS agents grabbed their guns and bags. "Which one we taking?"

Don looked at Gibbs. "How about you take Oded's place, my team'll take Mazar's?"

Gibbs nodded. "Yep. Doubt they'll be there. If they grabbed the professor, they probably took him to another location, but we may find some clues. Let's go!" he shouted, and both teams scrambled to obey.

"Let's get ready to roll," Don told his team, and they all knelt by their duffle bags, making sure that they were wearing their flak jackets, had plenty of ammo, and their comms were working.

Don double checked Mazar's address, and they grabbed the keys to the car Tony left for them, and hurried out. David drove, with Don in the passenger seat, and Megan and David behind them. Worried out of his mind, Don checked his watch nearly thirty times during the twenty minute drive there, images of his brother playing in his mind. Finally, they pulled up outside the apartment complex, each jumping out as soon as the car was in park. They ran up the stairs, stopping outside Mazar's room. Colby banged on the door. "Noam Mazar! FBI!" he bellowed. They didn't hear any noise, so Don got into position to kick in the door. He counted to three, then kicked, and David went in first. They checked through each room, shouting "Clear!" after each one, but no one was home; it appeared to have been that way for a while: no dishes in the sink, no clothes in the closet, and dust covered every inch of the apartment.

"Damn it!" Don yelled, then grabbed his cell, dialing Gibbs's number. They'd had a shorter drive than the NCIS team, so they may not be at Oded's place yet.

"Yeah, Gibbs," the team leader answered.

"Gibbs, its Eppes. Mazar isn't home, hasn't been for a while from what we can tell," Don told him.

"Right. We're pulling up to Oded's place now, we'll let you know what we find." The line clicked closed.

Don was fuming. He'd gotten his hopes up that he would see his brother right then, but this was just another dead end.

"Hey, Don," Megan called from the other room. He hurried over to see her looking through papers.

"What do you got?" he asked her quickly.

"He may not be here, but he's in on it," she said grimly, handing him a few papers. "Looks like he's been following Charlie for a while. There are articles here, ones about his academic work, about his FBI work, a few photos of him at airports, he even has a copy of Charlie's book!"

Don thought hard. "Alright. David, get the DC FBI on the phone, I want a full forensics team here, and I want to know everyone who's been in here since this guy rented this place: fingerprints, DNA, the works."

David nodded, cell phone already out and dialing. Meanwhile, Colby was looking at the mail that was by the door. "Don? Looks like this guy may not have stayed here in a while, but he's been checking his mail, there's only a couple days worth of mail here."

Don nodded and they continued searching, but there was nothing else of note, not until the forensics team would get there. Fifteen minutes later, Don's cell rang.

"Eppes."

"Eppes, its Gibbs. Oded's not at home, either. We've got forensics on its way to find anything else."

Don groaned in frustration. Their first and only lead, and it led nowhere. "You guys find anything of interest there?"

"We found a lot of article clippings about Dr. Eppes, but it looks like the guy cleared out a few days ago."

"Yeah, alright. Thanks," he said, then flipped the phone closed. "Oded's place was empty, too," Don told the team.

The agents sagged in defeat. But David tried to stay positive. "Don, we have enough circumstantial evidence now. We can trace their credit cards, tap their phones; we're going to find them, and when we do, we'll find Charlie," he promised, though he knew he was convincing himself as much as Don.

Don nodded, though he didn't trust himself to hope. Megan could tell that their boss was close to losing it. "Don, why don't you and I catch a cab back to NCIS, get a jump on those warrants? Colby and David can stay here and wait for Forensics."

Don shrugged, but allowed himself to be led out the door. Colby looked at David, and they tried to fight the mounting despair.

Gibbs looked around the room they were in, and sighed. He had hoped there would be something, but it was meticulous. Clearly Oded had no intention of coming back. There was no food, no clothes, each surface had been wiped down with bleach to destroy fingerprints and DNA. He just hoped that forensics would be able to pull something.

* * *

**A/N: They'll be more Charlie soon, never fear!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: Never has been, never will be mine...**

* * *

When Charlie opened his eyes, he was surprised to find sunlight beginning to stream in through the window. He sighed. It had been over a day since he'd been missing, and he wasn't even sure if anyone but the NCIS agents knew about it. No, he knew from working with his brother that the kidnap victims' families were always told once they disappeared. The question was whether or not the FBI would let Don and his team investigate, since it was a clear conflict of interest. He couldn't help but worry about Don and their father, what they must be going through? He thought about his father, alone in the house, no one to keep him company. Charlie bit his lip to keep back the tears, but then gasped in pain, as he'd forgotten about his split lip. As soon as he'd licked the blood away, the door opened, and Asaf walked in with two guards.

"Well, Dr. Eppes, how are you feeling this morning?"

"Just peachy," Charlie said sarcastically. "Though I do think that I would be a lot more comfortable in my hotel room right now. So, why don't you untie me and let me go?"

Asaf sighed. "If only that were possible. Alas, it is not. I have come to ask you if you have thought anymore about the job I had asked you to do yesterday."

Charlie shook his head. "There is no need for me to think further about it, because I will not do it."

Asaf sighed sadly. "I was worried you would say that. Akim?" he asked.

The larger of the two guards came forward. "Yes?"

"I fear our guest needs a little persuading. You have one hour," he said, then stood and left, taking the other guard with him.

Charlie started to sweat at the gleam in Akim's eyes. He thought of Don, and how his brother would handle this. His brother would take it, knowing that the pain gave the rescue teams time to find him. He took a deep breath, then braced himself.

* * *

Ziva pulled into the NCIS parking lot. She was feeling a lot better, not that she would admit it to anyone. After they had searched Oded's place, Gibbs had insisted that Ziva go home and rest. She tried arguing, but that never worked. So she had gone home after ordering Tony to call her if there was any news. Not that she cared more about this victim than the others they had helped in the past, but these bastards had taken a shot at her; she deserved a chance to help take them down. Actually, the NCIS team did care more about this case since Tim was so close to the victim.

As she got out of her car, she spotted the agent in question pulling in as well, and got out of his car with several coffees. She hurried over to help.

"You have enough coffee, here, McGee?" she joked.

"Haha," Tim laughed sarcastically. "No, the FBI agents never left last night, so I'm bringing coffee for everyone."

Ziva stared at him as they got into the elevator. "They did not leave?"

Tim shrugged. "I know that Eppes didn't. He called in a favor to wake some judge up and tried to get the warrants. But we're still waiting. He may have sent his agents home to get some rest. I know they probably didn't get much on the plane ride over."

Ziva nodded. It made sense. Just then, the elevator dinged and opened on their floor. They both walked out and saw Gibbs and Tony talking by the plasma.

"Morning, boss," Ziva greeted, handing him a coffee.

"Thanks, Ziver," Gibbs said quietly.

Ziva looked over to the extra desk that was where she'd spent the first few days on the team, and saw Agent Eppes. He looked horrible, and was busy typing something into a laptop. His team, though, looked marginally better. It was clear that they had gone to a hotel and had showered and changed, maybe even gotten some sleep.

Suddenly, Don's phone rang, and he hurried to answer it. "Eppes."

"Alright, you've got your warrants," he heard Robin say.

"Robin, thank you so much. I owe you one," he said, rubbing his tired eyes slightly.

"Don't thank me, Don. Your brother is important; this is me doing my part to help bring him home," she said with a smile. Though they had just started dating again, she knew that she couldn't ignore his call for help the night before, and had called in favors of her own to get the warrants signed, and promises that the judge would be there if anything else needed signed.

The two hung up, and Don looked at the agents gathered. "Robin got us the warrants. We have taps on their phones, and are tracing their cards. We should know something soon," he said, only a tad desperately. Without waiting for their reactions, he turned back to the computer.

* * *

At the end of the hour, Charlie couldn't raise his head. He knew that he had bought all the time he could for now, it was time to act. Though, right now, he could barely remember his name, much less what they wanted him to do. Blood dribbled out of his mouth, his left eye was so swollen that he couldn't see a thing out of it, his ribs were screaming in protest, and his right arm hung uselessly. It was a wonder he could think at all.

The door opened, and Charlie forced himself to raise his head a few inches to look at the person walking in. It was Asaf.

"Dr. Eppes, I hope you know that I didn't want to do that to you. But we need you to listen to us and do what we are asking."

Charlie would have sneered if he had the energy, but all he could do was flop his head down.

"Will you do what we are asking you to?" Asaf asked again, and smiled when he saw Charlie's half hearted nod. "Good. I know that Akim was a little, shall we say overzealous. I will send in Noam to patch you up slightly, and then I will bring in the laptop so that you can get started."

Charlie nodded again. A few minutes later, another man was kneeling in front of him. He set Charlie's dislocated arm, which would still be painful to use, though he didn't have a choice if he was going to be hacking into NCIS. He was given salt water to sterilize his mouth, and was given ice for a few minutes to try and help the swelling around his eye go down. After that, Asaf came back in with a folding table and the laptop.

"Well, Dr. Eppes, it is time for you to earn you keep," he said, then laughed.

Charlie wanted nothing more than to tell this man to go to hell, but he didn't. Instead, he gently used his left arm to place his right one on the laptop and started working on hacking the emails that these men wanted.

* * *

It was only a little while later that it happened. McGee and Ziva's computers started beeping menacingly, spitting up warnings.

"What the hell?" Gibbs asked, standing and going to stand over McGee's desk.

"I don't know, boss," Tim said, fingers flying over the keys, trying to see what was going on. "Wait, someone is trying to get into my emails." He looked up at Gibbs. "Ziva's, too," he said nervously .

"Is there any way to stop them?" Gibbs demanded.

"I'm not sure, they're using a way that I've never…." He trailed off.

"What, McGee?" Gibbs barked.

"The hacker or hackers are leaving us a message," Tim said, confused.

Don and the FBI agents went over to McGee's desk as well. "Pull up the message," Megan demanded.

Tim stared at her for a moment, then glanced at his boss. Gibbs nodded slightly. He was curious. "Okay," McGee muttered, then pulled up the message on the plasma.

**Jock – 3L4R1L5R2ndE1L3R8R1L2ndH**

Everyone stared at it for a moment. "Wait, I think I can block the hackers, boss," McGee said quickly.

Don stared at the message again, then cut off Gibbs, who was about to tell Tim to go ahead. "No, don't!" he cried, and everyone turned to look at him.

"Excuse me?" Gibbs asked, incredulous. "You want to allow hackers of unknown intent to freely roam around NCIS firewalls?"

Don shook his head. "What kinds of hackers leave a message? Hell, what kind of hackers only target two email addresses, two people that are known to be on the case of a certain missing mathematician?"

Gibbs continued to stare at Don. "Are you saying that the hacker is your brother?"

Don nodded. "It has to be. Why else would this person only go for Agent McGee and Officer David's emails? And look at the message. I don't know what the hell it means, but the first word? Jock? There is not a single person other than Charlie who has called me that in over 20 years. He's assuming that I'm on the case, and that this would get to me."

"You don't know any of that for sure," Tony said.

Don growled, throwing up his hands in frustration. "It makes sense. Charlie would know that my team would investigate his disappearance. Besides, if this really is him, and his kidnappers are demanding the information that is in those emails and you block him, you know what they will do to him!" he yelled. "If there is anything super sensitive, go ahead and block him. But you have to make the kidnappers think that Charlie can do this!"

McGee nodded reluctantly. "Charlie would be able to hack much cleaner than this. If he wanted to get in and get information, him or any good hacker, they would have made it much less obvious. He wanted us to know what he's doing, let us know that he's alive. Not to mention he's going pretty slow, trying to take as long as he can."

Don sighed, fighting the tears, and sat hard in his chair. He had been hoping for almost two days that he would find his brother, but this was the first proof they had that he was, in fact, alive.

It was a tense ten minutes, until the beeping stopped, and everyone looked at McGee.

"He's gone," McGee told them, and Don buried his face in his hands.

Megan looked over at her boss, and saw that he wasn't capable of asking anything right then. "What all did he take?" she asked.

McGee looked. "He downloaded most of my emails, but…" McGee hit a few more keys. "Anything that looked sensitive he left alone."

Don looked up, tears sparkling, but still couldn't talk. Colby took over. "He left some alone?"

McGee nodded and hit a few more keys. "Yeah, and Ziva's, he only went into her NCIS account. He completely bypassed her personal one, though he did access it, probably to see if it was there. Once he found it, he left."

David chuckled slightly, and all the agents turned to look at him. He shrugged. "Just thinking that this probably lies to rest any concerns about Charlie having flipped."

Everyone smiled and nodded. After a moment, they all turned their attention to the message. "Anyone have a clue what that stuff means? Eppes?" Gibbs asked.

Don stared at the message. It just looked like a jumble of letters and numbers to him. He shook his head. The rest of the team did as well. They all looked discouraged. Gibbs stood. "McGee, you and Abby work on this message. This has to mean something. Find out what."

Tim stared at his boss for a moment, then nodded. "On it, boss," he said, then emailed the message, stood, and left for Abby's lab.

Gibbs continued. "Let's see where we are on those taps," he said, and everyone went back to work.

* * *

**A/N: Thoughts? Remember, reviews feed the muse!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Thank you to ** Aerdna **for the review. The reason I haven't explained what the kidnappers want is because Charlie doesn't know yet, and Director David hasn't gotten back to Ziva yet. But that information is coming, never fear!**

**Do I need to put a disclaimer here? Anyone honestly think these shows are mine?**

**Spoiler alert here for the Numb3rs episode One Hour.**

* * *

Charlie finished typing, and let loose a groan. He knew that he had done a sloppy job, but it was the best he could do when he was in so much pain. Right now, he would do anything for a Vicodin and bottle of water. Normally, he hated pain meds, they messed with his ability to think. But right now, that would be a wonderful thing.

"Finished," he croaked as loud as he could. A moment later, the door opened, and Asaf walked back in.

"Dr. Eppes! Finished already?" he asked.

Charlie just nodded, then bit back a moan, as the motion made him nauseated.

Asaf grabbed the laptop. "See how easy that was? Now, I will have to look over this, find out how well you did. You sit tight, I'll be back."

Charlie didn't even bother to nod. His mind was on the message he'd left. He made sure that Don would realize it was from him, now he just had to get it to someone who could decode it, and Charlie would be home free. There were two people that could very easily decode his code. He sighed, wanting this all to be over.

* * *

For Don Eppes and his team, the day passed incredibly slowly. None of their taps or traces did anything, since the men's phones were off, and they weren't using their cards. To make matters worse, neither Abby nor McGee could figure out Charlie's message. It made no sense to any of them. By six that evening, they were all at a loss. Finally, Colby cornered Don.

"You have to go and get some rest," he said quietly.

Don shook his head, and drank deeply from his coffee cup. "No," he retorted. Then his eyes softened and he looked at his teammate. "I have to find my brother."

Colby nodded. "I know that. But you haven't slept in days. If you don't get some rest, then by the time we find out where Charlie is, you won't be any use because you'll be too tired."

THAT hit Don where it hurt. But he stayed where he was and looked at his hands. "I hadn't wanted to believe him," he whispered, more to himself.

Colby looked at his boss, confused. "Believe who?" he asked.

"Dr. Bradford, the FBI shrink I went to see after the Hoyle case," Don told him and Colby nodded. Colby pulled up a chair, he could tell that Don needed to talk for a moment.

"Okay. What did he say that you didn't want to believe?" Colby prompted.

"He asked about each member of the team. Then he mentioned that there was one member of the team I didn't talk about."

Colby tried to follow his boss' thoughts. "Liz?" he guessed.

Don laughed. "That's what I thought, since she and I were dating at the time." Then he sobered. "No, he was talking about Charlie." Colby nodded, suddenly understanding. "I hadn't wanted to believe that Charlie was a member of the team. And I don't know why! He's more than earned his spot, more than some agents I know," Don said in an agonized whisper, putting his face back in his hands.

Colby put a hand on Don's shoulder. "He has earned it. And if there's one thing that all of us believe, it's that you don't mess with a member of this team, am I right?"

Don thought about when Megan was kidnapped, and how he felt each time one of his people was injured during a case, and his face hardened. "We take care of our own," he said harshly.

Colby nodded. "Exactly. Which is why you know we won't stop working just because you are taking a much needed rest. Go to Charlie's hotel room, take a shower, change clothes, get some shut eye, and maybe even grab a bite to eat. Then come back here, and you can start working again."

Don stood in defeat. "You'll call if you find something?" he said, partly telling and partly begging.

Colby nodded again. "I'll pick you up myself," he promised, and walked Don to the elevator.

Megan looked up after the doors had closed behind Don. "Impressive, Granger," she said approvingly, looking up from the file she held. "How'd you manage that?"

Colby grinned and took a seat. "Reminded him that just because he isn't here doesn't mean we'd stop working."

Megan smiled. "Well, good job. I was worried we would have to take him down to Ducky's and have him sleep on the autopsy tables."

Tony interjected. "They aren't that bad, actually," he said casually, laughing at the looks he got from the FBI agents. "Hey, when you need sleep but don't have time to go home, you make due."

The FBI agents smiled and nodded.

* * *

Charlie looked up again when the door opened. He could see the sun setting from his prison window. Asaf walked in with a smile. "Well, I have good news for you. We can see that you were telling the truth, that you came to DC to see Agent McGee. I also enjoyed seeing your work, it was impressive."

Charlie resisted the urge to scoff. It had not been good work, he had done it while feeling like he wanted to die. If that work impressed this man, he had zero computer skills.

"Because you have done such a good job, I will let you have a few hours before your next task."

Charlie felt himself pale. He needed more time, give the people that were surely looking for him more time to do so. He would have to wing it, and shrugged, then hissed in pain as he remembered why shrugging was a bad idea.

Asaf smiled. "I'm glad you have come to your senses. Well, rest up. We'll be talking soon," he promised and walked out.

Charlie took a few moments to think. He wasn't in the best position to be fighting back, he knew. He was exhausted, starving, dehydrated, beaten up, and tied to the chair. But, he did have, hopefully, two federal agencies looking for him. And his brother. Don wouldn't give up no matter what.

* * *

The agents had been working steadily. There wasn't much they could do, but they were running full background checks on the three names they had. Right now, David and Tim were taking a turn on the autopsy tables, with Ziva, Megan, Gibbs, and Colby working. Ducky had long since finished the autopsy, and nothing stuck out, other than someone growing up without the benefits of good health care and dental hygiene. It was two in the morning, and Megan's cell phone rang.

"Reeves," she answered.

"Agent Reeves, good," Matt from Forensics replied. "I tried to get a hold of Agent Eppes, but there was no answer."

"Yeah, he's getting some sleep." She tried to remember why Matt would be calling. "You get something off that tape?" she asked.

"One of the idiots didn't think about the cameras, took his mask off when he got in the car. We ran down the face and got a name and address for you."

Megan stood, adrenaline pumping through her now, despite the late hour. "Send it to my email, we'll get right on it," she ordered. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me," Matt said with a smile. "Amita did all the work."

Suddenly, Megan wanted to slap herself. All the hours they had spent trying to decipher Charlie's message, and they had forgotten about the person who could have decoded it quickest! "Is Amita still there?" she demanded.

Matt was surprised by the change in topic as he sent off the email. "No, she went home little while ago," he answered uneasily, wondering what caused the urgency in Megan's voice. "Why, did you need her for something?"

"Yes," Megan said loudly. "Get her back in there, tell her we need her help on something else and to call me when she's there. Do it now," she ordered, and snapped the phone shut.

Colby had come over while she was talking. "What's going on?" he asked quickly.

"Matt found a face on the security tapes from the car lot, he got a name and address to go with it," she told them, and the other agent smiled in relief. Finally, another lead. "But I realized that we've been so stupid today!"

"How so?" Colby asked.

"Who do you think could decipher Charlie's message if he had given it to us while we were in LA?" she demanded, and saw comprehension on his face. "I have Matt trying to get Amita back into the office. As soon as she's there, we'll give her Charlie's message, maybe it can tell us something."

"How did we forget about Amita?" Colby berated himself.

"I have no idea, but at least she's on her way," Megan said. "Meanwhile, let's take a look at the information Matt gave us, maybe it's someone that we don't know about yet."

Ziva and Tony had come over to see what was going on. They had no idea who Amita was and why the other agents were so upset about forgetting her. Maybe they would find out soon.

Unfortunately, the tape had nothing new. The face they saw was Ben Oded, and the address was the same one they had checked before. The face that still had a mask on it seemed to be new, but there was no way to tell. It could have been Sayar, Mazar, or someone else entirely.

Colby went and woke the two agents, and they sent Ziva home. It had been clear that her shoulder was still hurting, and sleeping on a cold and hard autopsy table wouldn't do her any favors. She fought them, until finally Gibbs gave up and ordered her to his car and drove her home himself. Colby left to pick up Don, assuming that the team leader would be too tired to drive. They really wanted to let him get some more rest, but if Amita could figure out the code, Don would want to be there.

Colby and Don walked back into the squad room the same time Megan's phone started ringing. They hurried over just as Megan put it on speaker.

"Amita?" she answered.

"Hey, Megan," an exhausted voice answered. The agents looked at the clock, and winced. "Matt said there was something else you needed my help with?"

"I'm sorry to ask you to work so late, Amita," Megan started, but was interrupted.

"Megan, don't worry about it. I would rather be doing this than be at home worried. What is it you need?" she asked, taking another sip of coffee.

Don took over. "A few hours ago, Charlie hacked into some files from NCIS and left us a message, but we think it's some kind of code, and no one here can figure it out. Do you think there's any way you could?" he asked desperately.

Amita paused, thinking. "Well, Charlie's a code machine, but he obviously would want this one to be deciphered. Send it over, I'll take a look at it, see what I can figure out."

David was already sending the email with the message. "Now, the first word, Jock. We think that was Charlie's way of addressing it, saying that it was for Don."

Amita nodded to herself. "I agree," she said, looking at the string of letters and numbers. "That makes sense, and it doesn't fit with the rest of the message." Then she growled. "It looks so familiar, and I should know this, I've seen Charlie using it before, but I can't remember when or why!" she cried.

Megan put on her soothing voice. "Amita, it's alright. Do you think you saw him using it for a class or for a case?" she asked softly.

Amita took a breath and closed her eyes, thinking hard. "It was a case, because he was using one of the clear boards at the FBI, and was writing frantically." She opened her eyes in frustration. "I just can't remember what it's used for! And as soon as I figure it out, it will seem so obvious that we'll all wonder why it took so long."

"That's okay, sweetie," Don said, then had an idea. "Would it help to go through some of our case files?" he asked her. "We nearly always put Charlie's work in the files, since its part of the case. Maybe the answer is in there." He felt bad suggesting it. There they were, in DC, with very little work they could do; and Amita was in LA with far too much.

Amita had covered the mouthpiece of the phone, then started talking again. "That's a good idea, Don. Matt said that he could help, maybe get one of the new recruits to help as well."

Everyone sighed in relief that Amita didn't have to work alone. "That's great. Can you call us as soon as you get something?" Don asked.

"You'll know as soon as I know," she promised, and hung up to get to work.

* * *

**A/N: Thoughts? I noticed that traffic on this story has been falling lately. If there's something that anyone thinks I can improve on, let me know! :-)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Thank you, Brunie03 for the review, I'm glad that you're enjoying the story thus far!**

**I'm a broke college student, there's no way these are mine.**

**There's a bit more violence in this chapter, but not too graphic, promises.**

* * *

Charlie jerked awake. He had been dozing on and off for the last few hours. He tried to get more comfortable, but it was difficult; his injuries were painful, and the rope felt like it was burning his skin. He swallowed thickly. The pizza he'd had at Papa Dons seemed like so long ago; actually, it had been, since this was the third morning he'd woken in the room. For the first time, his hunger was more painful than his injuries. He gently lifted his head when he heard the door open again.

"Dr. Eppes, how are you feeling this morning?" Asaf asked. He was holding the laptop again.

"I've been better, "Charlie responded.

"I can understand that. But, if you finish your next assignment, I can see what we can do about getting you some food."

Charlie tried not to scoff again. Better if he played along. "And what is this assignment?"

"We need you to get into Mossad files and find the Director's security detail for the next two weeks," Asaf said without hesitation.

Charlie stared at the man. "And the reasoning for wanting that information is…"

"Not your concern," Asaf answered. "Now, are you going to do this, or will I have to convince you?"

Charlie thought hard. By now, he had no idea if the people looking for him had figured out his code, he knew he needed to buy some more time. But there were so many things he didn't know. He didn't know if, or rather when, these men were going to kill him. He didn't know if they were going to use the information about Director David to kill him, he didn't know if his brother was on the case, or if anyone had figured out his code. He needed more time, and right now, since he didn't know when they were going to kill him, there was only one way to stall for more time.

"No, I won't do it," he said firmly, and swallowed the bile that rose when he said it, knowing what it meant.

Asaf sighed sadly, as though he had suffered a great disappointment. "I was afraid you would say that," he said, and pulled out a gun, and pressed it hard against Charlie's thigh. "Are you sure you won't do what we ask of you?" he asked, voice now hard.

Charlie struggled to control his breathing, he was about to hyperventilate; his heart was about to jump out of his chest, it was beating so hard

"I'm sure," he whispered, then his world exploded into pain.

* * *

By ten am, everyone had taken a few hours for rest, food, and showers; they were all back to work. Every few hours, someone would run out for more coffee, which fueled the efforts. Don was struggling not to lose hope, but he was lost. Then his cell phone rang.

"Eppes," he said quickly, answering it on the first ring.

"Don, it's Amita!" he heard her voice, sounded excited.

He hurried to put the phone on speaker and waved everyone over. "You found something in the code?" he demanded.

"Don, we are so stupid!" she cried. "It's not a code!"

The FBI team leader turned to the plasma, where the message was still up. "What do you mean, it sure looks like a code to me."

"I know, that's why I was so confused, because I assumed that since Charlie is a code breaking machine that this would have to be a code. But the message is Charlie's shorthand, Don. It's directions."

The agents turned again to look at the message. "That's directions?" David asked, skeptical.

"Wait," Colby said quickly. "I think I see it. Most of the letters are R and L, so…

"Right and left," McGee said, chiming in.

"Exactly," Amita said. "You just need to know the starting point."

Don thought hard. "The crime scene where he was grabbed has to be the starting point."

"Eppes would be able to keep track of the turns for that long?" Gibbs asked, somewhat skeptical.

Colby laughed and pulled out a map. "It's numbers, dude. If there's one thing the whiz kid can do, its numbers."

Don agreed and Colby went over to the map. "Alright, Amita, are the numbers miles or blocks?"

"Miles," she answered promptly.

Don dictated to Colby the miles and turns that Charlie had given them, and Colby had a marker out to track the progress. Then he paused, confused by the next abbreviation. 2ndE? "Okay, where is he now?"

"He's at the interstate," he responded, not looking up.

Don grinned. "Alright, take the second exit, the make a left…" And they continued going through the message.

"2H?" Don asked. "What does that mean?"

"Could be the second house," Amita offered, and all the agents jumped slightly, having forgotten that the line was still open.

Don nodded. "Makes sense. Where is he, then?"

Tony grimaced. "That's a wooded area, it's a pretty bad part outside DC."

Don nodded. "Thanks, Amita," he told her, then closed the line. "Let's roll," he said, looking at the agents. The NCIS looked at them strangely, and Don stared at them. "You coming or not?" he demanded.

Gibbs was the only one brave enough to speak up. "We don't know for sure he's there, Eppes. This could be a trap."

Don growled, then knelt by his duffle, following his agent's movements as they pulled on flak jackets, grabbing extra ammo, and putting on their coms. Then he stood and looked at his NCIS counterpart. "You guys want to sit this one out, that's fine. But I know that my brother wouldn't have given us this message for nothing. We're going there and getting him back. It's up to you if you want to join us."

Gibbs looked at Don for a moment, searching for something. Then he nodded. "Gear up," he ordered, and the other agents hurried to grab their bags and guns.

Megan had called the DC FBI for back up while Don was talking with Gibbs, and a few minutes later, they were in two SUVs and driving towards the location Charlie had given them.

For the FBI agents, the drive was torture. All of them were having a hard time blocking the images of what their teammate had been going through. David was at the wheel, and had his lights flashing and sirens blaring; the NCIS team right in front of them doing the same. A few miles outside of DC, and another two SUVs joined their high speed caravan: the DC FBI was providing back up.

* * *

When Charlie opened his eyes again, he was surprised to find that he was on the floor, and wasn't tied. He shifted, then groaned in pain. Looking down, he saw a blood stained bandage around his leg, and his memory came back. His breathing became erratic, and he wondered how his brother did this for a living. He knew that his brother had been shot on more than one occasion; so had the rest of the team. Charlie knew that he would give almost anything to avoid this again. But, then he considered that thought. He had known this was likely when he refused to do more work for his abductors. If they came back in here and asked him to do something, Charlie honestly had no idea what he would say. Charlie tried to move, and found that he really couldn't. The hunger and exhaustion, combined with the injuries from Akim and the GSW from Asaf mean that being tied up was no longer necessary to keep him from leaving. Charlie felt a wave of despair. If anyone came to rescue him, how would he get out to meet them? He knew how dangerous it would be for them to storm the house, since all the kidnappers were armed.

Just as he was thinking that, the door opened again, and Asaf ambled in, looking at ease. "How are you feeling, Dr. Eppes?" he asked with a smile.

Charlie didn't even bother to grace that question with an answer. This man knew exactly how he felt.

"Yes, I figured that was the case. I brought you some broth," Asaf told him, placing a large mug next to him. "You lost quite a bit of blood before Noam was able to bind your wound. We can't have you dying on us until we put you to good work. I'll be back later with some more broth."

Charlie stared at the man as he walked out, then considered the mug. There was a good chance that it was laced with something; but then again, if they had wanted to kill him, they wouldn't have bandaged his leg. Charlie shrugged. He didn't really have a choice, so he grabbed it. As soon as he took the first sip, he couldn't help gulping it down. A few seconds later, he placed the empty mug back on the ground, and felt a lot better. The hot, salty liquid had helped to clear his head, and filled his stomach nicely. He closed his eyes again, intending to rest a bit more, when the door burst open suddenly.

"Get him up," Asaf snapped at Akim and Noam, and the two obeyed, pulling Charlie up none too gently. Charlie cried out in pain. "Shut up," he ordered, then turned to his men. "Hadar called, said he saw four SUVs on their way here, sirens going. Get him up to the cabin. No one knows about it. I'll stay here and keep them busy while you make a run for it. You can come back here later after the cops leave."

Charlie felt a rush of hope followed quickly by despair. At least someone had managed to figure out his message, but what good was it if they left? Would they be able to find him again? He was pulled from his thoughts by the jarring pain as his companions pulled him out of the house and towards the woods out back.

"I hope you are up for a bit of hiking," Noam said cruelly, and pulled him forward.

* * *

**A/N: Thoughts, opinions? I'm so mean to Charlie, I know it.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Sorry guys! Life got, er, rather complicated for a bit and my laptop hates me. I think my bro in law fixed it for now, but we'll see. Meanwhile, enjoy the update!**

**Thanks to Alia Inverse for the nice reviews! I'm glad you enjoyed Charlie's code.  
**

**Disclaimer: So not mine, though a girl can dream, right?**

* * *

Don and the agents were twitching in their seats, which only got worse as they pulled up a hundred yards from the house where they thought Charlie was at. As soon as they were all out of their cars, Fornell and Saks came over.

"Alright, Jethro, what do we have?" Fornell asked.

Gibbs just nodded to Don, who quickly explained. "Charlie hacked into NCIS files and left us a message. We had one of his colleges back in LA decode it for us. It was directions on how to get here; he kept track of all the turns they took."

"Is that even possible?" Saks demanded. "I'm sorry, but this seems like one hell of a long shot."

"You don't want to come, stay in the car," Colby snapped. "We're going in, anyone who wants to join us is welcome, we won't say no to a few extra guns. But we're going in."

Fornell nodded and sent a glare to his younger partner. "We'll be right behind you, providing cover, if you need it."

Don turned to everyone that was there. In addition to the four NCIS agents and his team from LA, there were eight more DC FBI agents that were there. "Alright, listen up," he commanded, and everyone fell silent to look at him. "We have a hostage situation in there, an FBI consultant. He's one of ours. His safety is priority one. If you get a chance to take these guys out, by all means, go for it, since I doubt they'll go down quietly." He looked at them, and realized that they understood. "Right, I want Gibbs, David, David, and Megan with me, we go in the front. Colby, DiNozzo, and McGee, you check out that side door on the left. The rest of you, start heading around back in case anyone tries to run out that way. Alright, let's move," he ordered.

Everyone took a second to double check their guns, their ammo, their jackets and their coms, then hurried up to the house. Don, Megan, and Gibbs were first in the line of people heading for the front door. They didn't hear any movement in the house, but that didn't mean anything. When they were about ten feet from the door, a few shots rang out, and everyone ducked to avoid the bullets. Don crouched down, then looked and realized that both Megan and Gibbs had been hit.

"David!" he yelled, then grabbed Gibbs by the collar of his shirt and dragged him back a ways, and saw David doing the same with Megan. When they were further from the house, Colby and Ziva sprinted over to help. Ziva ran over to Don and grabbed one of Gibbs' arms, throwing it over her shoulder as he did the same, and Colby and David were doing the same for Megan. They hurried back to the SUVs, and sat the two agents down so that they could take a look. Gibbs had taken one through the leg, but it wasn't bleeding too badly. Megan had taken one to the vest and on in her arm. Ziva hurried to grab some gauze. Don's earwig came to life.

"He's running, going for the trees," Saks yelled, and fired off a few shots, but none hitting. "Damn it, he's out of site, made it to the woods."

Don was still for a moment, then looked at his agents. McGee and DiNozzo had come over to look at their boss. He came to a split second decision. "McGee, Ziva, I want you to stay with them. Colby, David, DiNozzo, you're with me, we're going to help secure the scene."

McGee and Ziva looked ready to argue, but he didn't give them a chance, instead took off for the house again, the agents right behind him. They were all ready. This had gone on long enough.

They entered the house with no problem, and quickly realized it was empty. "Where the hell is he?" Don yelled.

"They must have taken off before we got here and taken Dr. Eppes with them," Tony said.

Don nodded, then took off out the back door, walking up to Fornell. "What happened?" he asked.

"Came out of there like a bat out of hell," was the answer. "Started firing off a bunch of rounds, we went for cover. He dodged all of our shots and got to the woods in time before we had a chance."

Colby came over to stand next to Don. "What about following him through the woods?" he asked as Tony and David hurried over as well.

Fornell shook his head. "Guy's good, and these are tough woods to follow. You need a damn good tracker to go through there."

Colby turned to look at Don, his eyes widening. "Someone like the bastard son of Clint Eastwood and Yoda?" he demanded.

Don stared at his teammate for a moment in confusion, but then the meaning was clear. "You're a genius, Col," he whispered, then pulled out his cell phone. He searched through his contacts for the right number, and pressed it to his ear.

Tony looked over at Colby, eyes bright with the two movie references. "This guy almost sounds like Gibbs," he commented with a smile. "Who we talking about here?"

Colby shushed him for a moment, showing that he would answer in a moment. Right now, he wanted to hear part of this conversation.

"Edgerton," the sniper answered.

"Ian? It's Eppes."

"Eppes? What are you doing calling me? You got a case you need me for?" Ian asked, pleased to hear from the other agent. An agent like Ian couldn't call many people friends, but this man and his team were definitely his friends.

"Look, Ian, I don't have a lot of time. Where are you right now?" Eppes demanded, and Ian thought he heard a trace of fear in his voice. He stopped in his tracks.

"I'm at Ronald Regan National Airport in DC, I was about to head to Atlanta for another job. What's going on?"

Don closed his eyes, sending a silent prayer of thanks. "Finally, something's gone right this week. Look, I'm with my team in DC on a case, and we need you, bad. Any way that job in Atlanta can wait?"

"Yeah, the guy's already been on the run for a few weeks. What's your case?" Ian asked, still wondering what the hell was going on. Why would Eppes and his team be in DC of all places, and on a case? Something wasn't adding up. "Why are you in DC, Don?"

Don gripped the phone harder. "Charlie's been kidnapped. He left us a clue to get to his location, but they grabbed him and took him through some woods, and no one here is a good enough tracker to find him."

Ian had frozen at the first three words. "Someone took the professor? When? Why the hell haven't I heard?"

"They grabbed him a few days ago, he was in DC visiting an old friend at NCIS. I thought Merrick had told all the agents, but he must have figured you were in the field and didn't need to know."

Ian cursed the director in his head. Without taking a moment to think about it, he turned to head back to the car rental to ask if he could keep the SUV for a while longer, and stuffed his plane ticket into his pocket. The Bureau would repay him. "Where am I headed?"

Don gave him directions and hung up, a slight smile on his face for the first time in days. Colby and David looked over at him. "Well?"

"Edgerton was in DC already, about to get on a plane to Atlanta. He's on his way," Don told them, and their faces relaxed in relief.

"So, who is this guy?" Tony asked again. It sounded like someone he would enjoy meeting.

"Special Agent Ian Edgerton," David told him. "FBI's best tracker, sniper instructor, and fourth best shot in the country."

Don gave a short laugh. "Nope," he told them, and his agents turned to look at him. "He was bumped up to number three a few months back."

* * *

Charlie was holding back tears by the time they reached the cabin. His captors had been keeping up a relentless pace for a few hours now, half carrying him through the wilderness. He felt as though he would be lucky to ever move again, or that he would be more than okay with cutting his leg off.

They entered the cabin, and Noam dragged him to one of the back rooms while Akim secured the house. Noam dropped him on the bare wood floor, which was at least better than the concrete that he'd been on previously. At least it wasn't quite as cold. Charlie stayed where he was, trying to catch his breath. He knew that if he tried to say something, the ironclad hold he had on the pain would break, and he would start crying. Not a weakness he wanted to show to this man.

Noam shoved a bottle of water at the professor. "Drink," he ordered, and Charlie looked at him strangely. "Can't have you dying on us," was all he would say, then he left the room, locking it behind him.

Charlie grabbed the water and drank deeply, then looked at his surroundings. The room was smaller than the first, and there was a window at about waist height. But even if Charlie could move well, the windows were barred from the outside. He started wondering what the probabilities were of getting out of the room on his own, when he realized the numbers wouldn't come to him.

Charlie panicked. The numbers had always been there; in times of stress, they had been overwhelmingly so. But now, they were gone, which was a first, and he didn't like it. Trying to coax them back, he started reciting the prime numbers in his head. Relieved that he could still do that, he moved on to remembering as many digits to pi as he could. His mind finally as taxed as the rest of him, he moved to lean into a corner of the room and fell into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

**A/N: Yay, my favorite Numb3rs character is on his way! *blushes* Anywho, was it worth the wait? Lemme know!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I tried to get the characters given to me, but they refused :-(**

* * *

After Don had called Ian, the agents hurried back to the vehicles to check on Megan and Gibbs. Tony grinned when he heard his boss yelling at someone that he was fine. A quiet Gibbs would have been cause for concern, but not when he was arguing. Megan was the quiet one, though that wasn't surprising. It was clear that she was in pain, but wasn't saying anything.

"How you doing, sweetie?" Don asked, walking over to her.

She opened her eyes and glared at her boss. "I'm feeling like if you call me sweetie again, I may have to hurt you."

Don laughed. "I know you could kick my ass normally, but I think I may be able to take you right now," he joked, then felt like he'd just stuck his foot in his mouth.

But Megan smiled. "You might be right about that. I'll just wait until we get back to LA and I'm off desk duty." Then she looked around, alarmed. "Wait, Charlie wasn't in the house?"

Don realized she didn't know what was going on, and saw Gibbs look over as well. David jumped in to explain. "Looks like they saw us coming, probably sent Charlie out with someone else. Soon as the other guy got off a few shots at us, he took off."

Gibbs looked at them. "So, what's the plan?" he asked, wondering why they were just standing around.

"They've got someone else coming, some bigshot tracker," Tony told him. "Apparently, he's like Clint Eastwood. You know, this really does sound like a movie: consultant gets kidnapped…."

"DiNozzo," Ziva and McGee groaned at the same time, making the FBI agents laugh.

Megan looked incredulously at Don. "Edgerton?" she demanded

"Yep. Turns out the guy was already in DC, about to fly out on another assignment. He should be here soon," Don told her, relieved yet again at their turn in luck.

Megan smiled in relief. "Remind me to ask Charlie to figure the odds that the exact guy we need was already here."

All the agents smiled at that, but Don felt his heart drop again slightly. "I'm going back into the house, see if I can find anything," he told them. "How long till the medics get here?" he asked McGee.

"About ten more minutes," Tim answered, and the two injured agents immediately started arguing.

"I'm not leaving this scene," Gibbs started.

"Don, you can't expect me to leave…" Megan protested.

"Enough!" Don said loudly, cutting them off. "You are both injured. Gibbs, I can't force you to leave, I can only point out that you would be more of a hindrance than a help at this point." He turned to Megan. "You I can force to leave. You know Bureau policy as well as I do. I promise I'll let you both know what is going on as soon as we know." Without even waiting for a response, he turned and walked back to the house.

Colby looked at David. "How do you think he's taking it?" he asked.

David was watching their boss leave. "Better than I thought he would have. I mean, this is Charlie, but he's holding it together pretty well. I think that the fact that we are closing in on them is helping." The other agents nodded, and they settled down to wait. An ambulance came, and the medics jumped out. Two very unhappy agents left with them to head to Bethesda, only after demanding that they get a sitrep as soon as possible.

About half an hour after the ambulance left, Ian navigated his SUV up to them. He chose to leave his bags where they were for now, he'd worry about that later. Getting out, he spotted Sinclair and Granger talking to three agents he didn't know. He went up to them.

"Hey guys," he greeted, holding out his hand.

"Ian, good to see you man," David said with a smile. "Glad you could come on such short notice."

"Please, like I wouldn't have found some way to be here for this." He looked around. "Where are Eppes and Reeves?"

"Megan's on her way to the hospital," David told him, eyes darkening. "I think Don went back into the house; its where they were keeping Charlie."

Ian felt like he really needed more information. "First thing first: Reeves is in the hospital?"

McGee jumped in. "She and our boss were shot. She's fine, though. Took a round to the vest and one in her arm."

"And you are?" Ian asked.

David took over introductions. "Special Agent Ian Edgerton, meet Special Agents Tony DiNozzo and Tim McGee, and this is Mossad Liaison Officer Ziva David. They're NCIS."

Ian shook their hands, then looked again at David. "So, that's where Reeves is. You said something about the house?"

David nodded. "They were keeping Charlie in that house," he said, pointing. "But they must have known we were coming and took off with him. Left one of them behind to slow us down; he got off a couple rounds, then took off in the woods. I think Don is checking out the house now."

"Actually, he's in the room we think his brother was held in," Saks said as he walked over. Then he caught sight of Ian, and sneered at the unkempt appearance. "And you are?"

David and Colby grinned. They had grown sick of this guy's attitude, and were looking forward to the show.

Ian smirked and held out his hand. "Ian Edgerton, FBI. I was called in to help find the professor, since DC apparently doesn't have halfway decent trackers," he said, crushing Saks's hand. He released it. "Now, if you will excuse me, I'm going to find the man in charge."

"Got it," Saks said, massaging his hand.

Ian smirked again, and went into the house. He found Don easily enough; the agent was in a nearly empty room. It just held a table and a single chair. Don was staring at the chair.

"Eppes?" Ian greeted cautiously.

"He was shot," came the emotionless answer. "Shot or stabbed in the leg. Also looks like he had a bloody lip. Then they dragged him over here where they bound the wound."

Ian walked next to Don so that he could see better, and he realized that Don was right. There was a smear of blood on the top of the chair, where someone's mouth would be. There was also a bullet hole in the chair, and a lot of blood dripping down. There was also a smear of blood on the ground, and a small puddle at the end."What does that tell you?" he asked, mostly to keep Don talking and to give himself some time.

"He's not cooperating," Don answered flatly, still not looking at Ian. "He hacked the emails for them, since it was a way to get information out, but then he refused to do anything more for them. So they shot him, trying to get him to do some more work."

Ian had no idea what he'd meant by hacking emails, but he nodded at the rest of it. It made sense, unfortunately.

"How did they know we were coming?" Don asked suddenly, looking at Ian for the first time. Ian swore that he would be perfectly happy never to see the look of pure rage that was in Don's eyes directed at him.

"What do you mean?" Ian asked.

"They had to have known we were coming. The blood here is still wet, it hasn't dried. It just seems a bit too coincidental that they decide to move him just before we get here."

Edgerton though about what Don said, and realized that he was right. "Either there's a leak somewhere, or there's another person who's been keeping tabs on you guys, waiting to see if you found out where they were keeping him."

Don nodded. He had no way of knowing if there was a leak. If this were LA, he would be investigating, but this was out of his jurisdiction. He just hoped that it wasn't a leak, or there wasn't much he could do to plug it.

Ian shook his head to clear it. This was messy, and he would do anything to help clean it up. "Let's go take a look outside, see about those tracks?" he offered, and put a hand on Don's shoulder.

Don nodded tersely and walked quickly from the room, trying to work off some of his rage. The two of them went to the edge of the woods, and Ian took a look around. "There's two trails," Ian said, knowing that Don wanted to know whatever he could. "One of them is your shooter, he's running as fast as he can. This other one looks like three people, one limping heavily, probably supported by the other two."

Don tried not to think too hard about what his brother was going through; it was hard enough keeping a level head as it was. "They're probably headed to the same place, but we should follow both to be safe."

Ian nodded. "If we take too many into the woods with us and we get close, it'll scare them off. I say two per trail. We load up on ammo and take the radios, keep in contact just in case they aren't going to the same place."

"Let's go tell the others," Don said, and the two headed over to the SUVs.

The DC FBI were getting fidgety, not sure what else there was to be done right then. The NCIS team and Don's looked up quickly when they saw Ian and Don approaching. Colby stood. "What's going on?" he demanded.

Don turned to look at Ian, who spoke. "We've got two trails headed into the woods. One is our shooter, the other I'm going to guess is the professor and two other perps. Don and I are going to be following Charlie's trail, I need two others with tracking experience to follow the other trail."

Ziva stood. She had been sitting in the SUV massaging her shoulder. They had tried to convince her to use a sling, but she had vehemently refused one. "I can track easily. I will take one."

"I'll go with her," Colby said, adamant.

Ian knew that Granger had tracking experience as a Ranger, and had worked with Mossad enough to know that Ziva probably knew her stuff as well. "Alright. We'll load up, grab some food and water and head out. I want to be on that trail in no less than ten minutes."

Ziva, Colby, and Don nodded, and started getting bags together. David went up to Don. "What can I do?" he asked, nearly pleading. He didn't want to be the only LA guy stuck on the sidelines.

Don looked at his teammate. "Stay here and keep an ear open on the radios. We may need backup eventually, and I'll need you to lead the cavalry to our location." David nodded. He still didn't like it, but it made sense.

Ten minutes later, and the two teams met at the tree line. Just as they were about to start on the trails, Ziva's cell rang, and she hurried to answer it, seeing that it was an Israel number. "David," she answered, and started walking away.

Ian looked at Don and Colby, confused. "Her dad's the director of Mossad," Colby told him. "There's a good chance that whatever consulting work Charlie did for them has something to do with this."

Ian nodded in understanding, and they waited for her to get off the phone. A few minutes later, she hung up and came over to them. "Well?" Don demanded.

"When Dr. Eppes came to Mossad in 2004, he was there to implement a new security program for us. Then in 2005, we had problems with people hacking in to get information, so Director David brought him back in to fix the problems and try to catch the hackers. He was able to fix it and add more security, but was unable to find the hackers."

Don took a deep breath. As soon as he found his brother, he was going to ream him for getting involved in something this big. Clearly the men who had him were the hackers, and needed the writer of the code to help get the information they need. "I take it everything is in this new system?" he guessed.

Ziva grimaced. "Everything. It has the names, code names, and locations of every operative, defense plans, and security details. If they manage to get him to crack the system, no one in Mossad would be safe," she told them. "For now, they are going to try and move as much sensitive information away, but it could take a while."

"Alright, we need to hurry. The guys who have him are clearly the hackers he couldn't find before. He's been holding out for a few days now, they've got to be getting impatient."

"Right, keep your radios on, let us know if you find something," Ian said to Colby and Ziva, then turned to follow the trail.

Don went to Colby, and whispered. "You find this guy, let me know. I need to be there when he gets what's coming to him."

Colby agreed. "You got it, Don," he promised. Saying anything else right now would be career suicide, he knew, though he wouldn't have thought of doing anything else.

* * *

**A/N: Finally, an update! Sorry for the long wait; storms in my neck of the woods knocked out my internet, and I had to head into town to upload this. But consider this my birthday gift to you, my loyal readers! Enjoy!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Shorter update than usual, I'm sorry about that, but I figured you all would rather a short update than none. So I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Has anyone heard if Numb3rs and NCIS are for sale for...er...free?**

* * *

Charlie woke to the sound of arguing. Shifting slight to hear better, he had to stifle a moan of pain. It seemed that sleep did little to help with his injuries; if anything, he hurt worse than before. But the arguing cut through his thoughts, and he strained to hear.

"Why the hell did you call everyone?"

"Did you see how many people were at the house? We need to get the information, and there's no way we can go back just yet. In case the feds manage to find this place, we need to be able to hold them off, which means we needed more men!"

"How are you planning on paying them? When they get here, you know the first thing they'll want to know is how much they'll get paid, and Hadar won't pay for them. It was hard enough getting all of us on the payroll."

"I know that. But he also appreciates results, and if this is the only way we can get the work done, he'll understand."

The door to Charlie's room opened, and Asaf stalked in, looking angry and carrying the laptop. "You will help us," he ordered.

Charlie shook his head. "How many times are we going to go over this? I'm not going to help you kill the Director of Mossad, no matter what you want to do to me."

"Why are you being so loyal to this man? You think he would do the same if your positions were reversed? He wouldn't care a whit what happened to you! He sent his daughter to kill his son; the man has no conscience. Besides, you don't know for certain that we plan to kill this man!"

Charlie scoffed. "What else would you want with his security detail? You plan to either kill him or kidnap him; and there is no way that I'm going to be responsible for helping you with that."

Asaf knelt down next to him, his voice his voice so quiet that it scared Charlie. "You know, I have learned many things over the years. Part of what I have learned is what can be done to the human body before it completely breaks down. Another thing I learned is what can be done to the mind. You tell me something: if I manage to get someone in here, someone you care about, how long will it be before you are begging us to let you help?"

Charlie swallowed the bile that was rising. The threat was clear; they would torture him, and if that did not work, they'd find his family and torture them in front of him. His mind immediately went to his brother. What would Don do in this situation? "You leave my family alone," he snarled with as much energy as he could mange at that moment.

Asaf chucked. "Oh, sounds like I hit a nerve there, huh? I will tell my men to find out whatever they can about your family, see what we can do about letting them, uh, visit you. How does that sound? Or maybe I will let them torture you until you would gladly give us their address."

Charlie held back a whimper of fear. He had to be strong, give the rescue teams time to find him. "I would never give you anything that would help you find my family."

Asaf stood and walked to the door, then turned to look at him one more time. "We shall see about that, Dr. Eppes."

* * *

Don looked at the setting sun in despair. They had been following the tracks for nearly two hours now, and it was getting harder to see the trail with the limited sunlight that was coming through the trees. Ian stopped for what seemed like the hundredth time, then sighed and looked at Don.

"It's getting too dark to follow the track, even with flashlights. I'm sorry, Don, but we're going to have to camp out here for the night, pick it back up in the morning."

Don growled in frustration, but he knew that the sniper was right. Without saying anything to Edgerton, he grabbed his radio. "Team 2, this is Team 1."

"This is Team 2, go ahead," Colby answered.

"It's too dark to see the trail here, we're camping out to wait for dawn."

"Copy that. We've lost the trail a few times, so we'll do the same. You want us to call down to base?"

"Negative, Team 2, we'll do that. See you in the morning. Team 1 out," Don said, then started again. "Team 1 to base."

"This is base, go ahead, Don," David answered, grabbing for the radio.

"Both teams are having a hard time seeing the trails, so we're going to camp out here tonight, wait for dawn to pick it back up."

David could tell how hard the words were for Don to say, but wisely chose not to mention it. "Okay, I'll send these guys home, we'll bring them back at first light."

"Sounds good. Check on Gibbs and Megan, would you?" Don asked, though it was more to give David something to do than anything. He knew that their wounds weren't that bad.

"Got it, Don. Base, out."

Don clipped the radio back to his belt, and then looked at Ian, who had laid his bag down and gripped his rifle. "I'm going to take a look around, make sure that the area is clear," Edgerton told him, and he nodded.

Don went through his bag, pulling out some food and water for the two. Without a doubt, this was going to be the longest night of his life, even worse than the flight over here. Ian came back less than an hour later, reporting that the surrounding area was clear of anyone else, though he had spotted Colby and Ziva's trail about a mile away. It looked like the trails probably intersected further up, but they would still follow both to be safe. Ian had offered to take first watch, and Don reluctantly agreed.

As the sniper watched Don fall into a fitful sleep, he sighed. There was no way he was going to wake up the other agent tonight. It was likely the first sleep the man had since his brother went missing; he would get an earful at dawn, but this wasn't going to be the first time he'd stayed up all night on a hunt. His mind went to the professor, and he worried slightly. He had seen victims in his time that honestly made his stomach crawl, though he would never lose it until he was alone. The thought of his friend like that made him want to do something rash, like going in guns blazing and trying to take out every one of those bastards that hurt him.

A mile away, Ziva was thinking along the same lines as she watched Colby sleep. Just like the sniper, she was going to let Colby get some rest. She had seen firsthand how much this consultant meant to the team, and how hard they were pushing themselves to find him. Though she had only interacted with the man once – not counting the time she'd met him in Tel Aviv – she found him to be a good person. She worried, though. Having been in the field for so long, she had seen enough torture victims to know what the doctor was likely experiencing, and had to push the thoughts away.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you all for the reviews on the last chapter, I hope this one was good enough, since I tried to put a bit more psychological torture in there for Charlie. Thoughts? Suggestions? Let me know!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: Do any of you actually believe that the studios would let me be this mean to Charlie? :-)**

* * *

Dusk had just fallen when Charlie jerked awake as the door opened. The split second the door was open, he saw a lot more men than had been there earlier. Asaf walked back in with Akim, who was carrying a bamboo rod. Charlie's stomach flipped as he saw it.

Asaf set the laptop down and pulled out a set of handcuffs. Charlie tried to squirm away, but Asaf was a lot stronger than he was at the moment. Without caring about the professor's cries of pain, he cuffed the man's hands around the bars in the window. Thought it was only at waist level, it pulled on his ribs, and Charlie cried out in pain.

"Now, have you changed your mind about helping us?" Asaf demanded.

Charlie clenched his teeth. He knew he was in for more pain, but once again, he needed to buy some time, and couldn't give in just yet. He shook his head, knowing that if he opened his mouth, he would vomit.

Asaf sighed again. "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this." He knelt, and removed Charlie's shoes and socks, then nodded to Akim.

Akim came forward and swung the rod, hitting Charlie's foot. Charlie kept his jaw clenched, grunting loudly in pain. The process continued until Charlie had lost track of how many cracks he'd heard. In the end, his body could handle no more pain, and he passed out.

* * *

Ian looked up and saw the sky turning from black to grey, and knew that it was nearly dawn. He finished cleaning his rifle, which was his way of calming his nerves and keeping himself awake, then packed both their bags, making sure everything was ready to go. Then, as the first rays of light crept through the trees, he knelt by Don, who was still asleep, leaning against a tree trunk.

"Don, it's time to move," Ian said, placing a hand on the agent's shoulder.

Don jerked awake, then looked around, seeing the light beginning to shine. "What the hell, Ian?" Don demanded, standing up. "I thought you were going to wake me at 3 for my turn on watch."

Smirking, Ian shook his head. "You looked too cute like that, I couldn't bear to disturb you."

Don growled at him, picked up his bag, and then grabbed the radio. "Team 2, this is Team 1."

"This is Team 2, go ahead." This time is was Ziva who answered, as she had just woken up the agent, getting a similar reaction from him.

"Team 1 is picking the trail back up and headed out."

"Copy that, Team 1. We are doing the same, just started moving again. Looks like the trails might intersect soon, so we may see you within the hour."

"Copy that, Team 2. Over and out."Don then called down to base to let them know that both teams were heading out. He was glad to hear that both Megan and Gibbs were doing well, assuming that 'well' was defined as harassing the nurses and trying to sign out AMA. Don chuckled as he thought of what that hospital room would look like.

Edgerton easily found the trail again, and this time they picked it up with a renewed urgency. The men who had made the trail clearly weren't trying to cover their tracks, and even Don could see the trail. Though it didn't make him upset at calling Ian in; something like this, the more people they knew, the better. An hour later, their trail connected with Ziva and Colby's. After a short greeting, Edgerton led the group through the woods until they came to a log cabin which was in a small clearing. Don's heart leapt into his throat; there were about eight men surrounding the north end of the cabin. The four agents hurried backwards until they were out of earshot.

Ian said that he would go around to the other side of the building, try to get a look in the windows and get a better head count. Don agreed, and told Colby to call down to base, that they really were going to need some more agents. This was going to turn ugly fast. Colby hurried to get the radio from Ziva, and walked a little ways away, giving David their coordinates. All that was left now was too wait, and Don wasn't sure he would be able to wait much longer.

Suddenly, his earwig came to life again. "Eppes, this is Edgerton."

"Go ahead," Don said quickly.

"I've got three more perps inside. Looks like they're all armed," Ian said, looking through his rifle scope.

Don took a deep breath. "Any sign on the vic?" he gritted out, now officially hating the word.

"I can see a pair of hands cuffed to some bars around a window on the south side of the building. There's no door to it, but it looks like there's a door in the room next to it. If we can pull as many of the guards from the house as we can, there's a chance we can get him out of there."

"Alright, come on back over," Don ordered, thinking hard. He started pacing slightly, trying to think of a plan that would still be safe for Charlie.

Just then, he felt a tap on his shoulder, and turned, startled to see David there, with what seemed like half the DC FBI force.

"David? How the hell did you guys get here so fast?" Don demanded.

David chuckled darkly. "Turns out this cabin runs fairly close to the road. I checked the map after Colby gave me the coordinates, and it's only about two miles from the main road."

Don wanted to hit something. If they had known about this the day before, they probably would have Charlie back by now. "How many agents we got?"

"There's us three from LA, plus Edgerton, the three NCIS agents, and fifteen DC agents."

Don whistled. He was sure that Wright had something to do with this. He swore that when he got back to LA, he was going to find some way to thank his boss. Turning back to the present, he told David what they knew so far about the enemy's numbers and whereabouts.

"Well," David started, thinking out loud. "I'd say we have the advantage here. We've got numbers, surprise, and better cover because of these trees. So what if we send a group around to the south side, two people providing cover, two going in and grabbing Charlie?"

"And the rest of the agents here will distract the other guards while we do that," Don finished with a grim smile. He led the way over to the other agents. "I like the way you think, David." Everyone started putting on the riot gear, knowing that this was going to be one bitch of a firefight.

* * *

**A/N: *runs and ducks* Don't kill me, please! I'll have the rescue up soon. I wasn't pleased with my original version, so I'm rewriting it. Thanks to everyone who has subscribed to this story so far!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Yay, quick update, and I think its the longest one yet, simply because there really wasn't a good place to break it off! So here is the one you've all been waiting for: The Rescue!**

******Disclaimer: Oh, how I wish they were mine...  
**

* * *

"_Charlie, how could you?" Alan screamed at his youngest. _

_Charlie looked at his feet and his stomach turned. He saw his older brother laying there, eyes open but unseeing. Looking closer, he could see all of the methods of torture that Akim had used on him. Charlie looked up at his father, eyes begging for understanding. "Dad, I couldn't…."_

"_No son of mine is responsible for the death of another, Charles," Alan said, turning away. "You are no longer my son. You chose to put the safety of a man you've met twice above that of your own family. You should be the one laying there dead."_

Charlie gasped and tried to stand, but realized that he was still cuffed to the window. Not to mention, he wouldn't be able to stand on his own for a long time. His eyes filled as the pain in his foot registered again. He squeezed his eyes together tightly. He really hoped that his nightmare never actually happened. Not only that his father didn't hate him, but that these men never got anywhere near his family. Unfortunately, because he was so well known, his family was as well. He knew that if anyone tried to find out about his father and brother, it wouldn't take too much effort.

Asaf walked into the room, again holding the laptop. "Well, Dr. Eppes, how are you?"

"How the fuck do you think I am?" Charlie demanded. Normally he never cussed, but this was getting ridiculous.

"I just wanted to let you know that Akim and Noam are on their way to Pasadena. I understand you have family there, correct?" Asaf smirked.

Charlie felt his heart drop to his feet. "You leave them out of this!" he screamed in rage. "They have nothing to do with this!"

"Ah, but they do," Asaf corrected. "You see, we need the information that you have, and if this is the only way for us to get it…" he tailed off, letting Charlie's imagination fill in the blanks.

"Asaf!" another man yelled, coming into the room. "We have movement in the trees, possibly the feds."

Asaf stood and glared at Charlie one last time, before hurrying out with Akim. Charlie tried not to get his hopes up. It wasn't for sure that it was a rescue team. Even if it was, he just had to make sure that they knew to send a team to protect his father.

* * *

Don, Colby, David, and Edgerton stood a few yards from the south end of the house. Don used a pair of binoculars that the DC team leant him, and saw the hands that Ian had mentioned. He saw one person enter the room and speak briefly for a moment. Then someone else entered in a panic, and the two left together. "Alright, the possible vic is alone in the room," Don told the other three, who nodded. "Edgerton, David, you two are going to provide the cover fire, Colby and I will go in the cabin and get Charlie. Question?" he asked quickly, and they all shook their heads. Don, Colby, and David pulled out their guns, Ian already having his rifle ready.

Edgerton and David lead the way. Luckily, no one had seen them yet, and as soon as the four were at the back door, Don hit a button on his comm. "Alright, guys, go," he ordered the NCIS team and the DC FBI. Right away, they heard gunshots, and David kicked in the door, then turned back around, letting Colby and Don enter the room.

Don hurried inside, Colby right behind him. There was no one in the room, and they turned to the room they thought Charlie was being kept in, and Colby kicked it in. Don entered, and his breath caught as he took in the scene.

* * *

Charlie was nearing a panic attack. He heard the gunshots and screaming outside, and was waiting for someone to come in and finish him off, or to drag him to another location. The door slammed open, and he braced himself. Then he felt relief wash over him as he saw the yellow FBI letters on the jackets of the two men entering the room.

"Charlie!" Don whispered, frozen for a split second. The he shook himself out of it, and walked over to his brother, looking at the cuffs. He could tell that his brother was seriously injured, but right now, they had to get him out of the house. He pulled out his handcuff key, then cursed loudly when he found it was a different brand, and his key wouldn't work. He turned around to look at Colby. "The key's not working. You know anyone who can pick locks?" he demanded.

Colby was never so grateful for learning the noble art of lock picking as he was right then. "Keep a lookout," he ordered Don, and knelt by the professor and pulled out his set of picks from his pocket. "Hey, Charlie," he said quietly as he worked.

"Colby?" Charlie asked in a whisper, wondering if he was hallucinating.

"That's right. We'll get you out of here in just a minute," he reassured him, hands deftly working the lock. A few seconds later, Colby heard the telltale click, and the cuffs fell off. Colby gently lowered Charlie's arms from the window, and looked at Don. "You ready?" he asked.

Don was there in a heartbeat. "Charlie?" he asked, trying to get his brother's attention.

"Don?" Charlie asked, hoping that he had identified the right voice.

"That's right. We're going to have to pull you up and get you outside where it's safer, okay?"

Charlie shook his head. "Don't worry about me, Don. They're going to send someone after Dad, you have to stop them!" he said as loudly as he could.

Don shushed him at the same time he felt his heart break. Trust his brother to be more worried about someone else rather than himself. "I'll send a team to Dad's to make sure he's safe. Can you stand?" he asked.

Again, Charlie shook his head, and gestured to his feet. Don saw red as he took in the sight of the mangled feet. Colby also took a look, and knew what had happened. A friend of his had been jumped when they were in Afghanistan, and his feet had looked the same when they'd gotten him back a few days later. "That's alright, Charlie," Colby quickly told him. "Don and I are going to help you get out of here." As soon as he said that, he and Don stood, pulling Charlie up with them. Charlie gritted his teeth to keep from screaming in pain, and felt his arms go around the men's shoulders. They quickly realized that even that wasn't going to be enough to get him out, so they leaned down and grabbed under his legs, carrying him.

The two agents quickly navigated out of the cabin, meeting David and Edgerton who were keeping watch for them. Both looked relieved to find Charlie alive, but then they turned at the sound of an enraged shriek from the cabin. Ian turned quickly and shot him just as he was going for a gun. "Let's go!" he ordered. They made an interesting procession out of the cabin: David in front, Don Colby and Charlie in the middle, and Ian behind, keeping an eye out for others who would try to stop them.

As soon as they made it a few yards into the woods, Don stopped. "Right, let's set him down," he said to Colby, and they gently lowered him. "Colby, go find out how they're doing on the other side," he ordered, and the agent hurried away, pulling out his gun as he ran.

Ian stayed in a protective stance over the professor, and David and Don knelt next to Charlie. "How you feeling, Buddy?" Don asked, eyes sweeping over his brother, looking for the most serious injuries.

"I'm feeling like some Morphine would be pretty damn nice right now," Charlie retorted, trying to control himself. But it became too much: his injuries, the constant fear, the exhaustion, and the relief at rescue. He turned and threw up what little water he'd had that day.

"Here you go, Charlie," David said, holding a bottle of water at his lips. Charlie murmured a thank you, and drank thirstily. David looked worriedly at Don for a moment before turning back to the consultant. "Have you had anything to eat or drink today?"

Charlie shook his head as he finished off the water. "Just a bottle of water and a cup of broth a few days ago," he said hoarsely.

Don was appalled. All he wanted right now was to get his brother to a hospital, but they had to wait for the all clear. He looked down when he felt Charlie squeezing his hand. "Buddy?" he asked.

"You have to get a team on Dad. Asaf said that he sent a couple people to grab dad and get me to talk. Please, Don, get a team on him," Charlie begged. Now that he knew his brother was safe, he was more worried about their father.

Don could tell how freaked Charlie was, so he nodded, then looked at David. "Call Wright, tell him what Charlie just said and that he needs to get a team over to the house ASAP."

David nodded and pulled out his cell. After a quick phone call and a promise to call again as soon as there was an update on Charlie's condition, the three agents and Charlie saw Tony running towards them. "We've got them," he told them with a smile. "Four dead, the rest are arrested. There's no room for a chopper to land, so Fornell called an ambulance to meet us at the road. They also grabbed a stretcher so you can get there easier."

"Hey, Tony," Charlie said from the ground. "Thanks."

"No problem, Charlie. Colby and Tim are bringing the stretcher, so they'll be here in a minute," reported Tony.

They waited around for a bit, until they saw Colby and McGee hurrying over with a stretcher. McGee froze as he took in the sight of his friend, but a nudge from Tony brought him back to his senses. Don knelt down next to his brother.

"Hey, Charlie, we're going to have to get you onto this stretcher so we can hurry you to the hospital, alright?" Don asked quietly.

Charlie again gritted his teeth and nodded. It was getting harder to hold in the sounds of pain: either because he was now among friends who wouldn't feel any different about him either way, or because of the amount of pain he was in. It didn't really matter, though, as a few seconds later, he was firmly on the stretcher, and felt himself hoisted in the air. He looked up and saw that Don and David were the ones holding him up, while Colby, Ian, Tony, and Tim were following.

"When did you guys get here?" Charlie asked. He was partly curious, but also needed to keep his mind off the pain.

David and Colby chuckled slightly, and Don looked over his shoulder. "We came in a few hours after you'd been taken, Chuck. Turns out the FBI and NCIS can actually work together when they want to, huh? Especially when they all know each other," he said, and all the agents laughed. Charlie was feeling confused, but chose to focus on the fact that he was alive, and he'd laugh at jokes later.

Don was leading the way, with Colby next to him, gun drawn just in case. They said they had gotten everyone, but there was a chance that someone could have taken off before the fighting started. Better to be safe than sorry. Colby noticed how Don winced every time Charlie would hiss or groan in pain. Don and David were trying to walk quickly, but at the same time smoothly over the rough terrain, but it was difficult, and Charlie felt it every time the stretcher jarred slightly. He felt he needed something to keep the professor's mind off the pain. "That code was pretty smart, man. Soon as we sent it off to Amita, she helped us figure it out."

Charlie smiled, then winced as it pulled against his raw lip. "Thanks. I had used it a while back during that kidnapping case a few years ago, thought it would come in handy right about then."

"Well, you were right. She and Matt figured it out," David said, trying to keep the conversation going.

"When did you get here, Ian?" Charlie asked, now fighting to keep his eyes open.

Edgerton chuckled. "I've been in DC for about a week now, but the director forgot to tell me about this. So Don called me yesterday and asked for a tracker."

"Well….I'm glad you could….make it," Charlie mumbled, trying not to zone out.

Tim walked over to where Don was, and gestured that he would take the front of the stretcher. Don looked at him strangely, and Tim dropped his voice. "You know him best, but he probably has a concussion. He needs to stay awake, and I'm guessing big brother is best at that?"

Don nodded his understanding, and handed over the stretcher gently; Charlie never even noticed the difference. "Hey, Chuck, how you feeling?" Don asked.

Charlie cracked open an eye. "How the hell do you think I am? And don't call me Chuck," he tried to snap, but there was no force behind his words.

"You can tell me that as much as you want, you know I'll never stop. And I don't know how you are, I never got the chance to talk to you after you landed in DC," Don joked, trying to keep him engaged in conversation.

"I feel like I want some damn pain pills, that's how I feel. And a nice rib eye, you know the kind Dad makes?" Then Charlie remembered the threat about his father. "Don, did you get a team over to Dad's?" he demanded. "You can't let them do anything to dad, you can't!" he yelled, starting to freak out again.

Don laid a soothing hand on his brother's shoulder. "You already told me about that. David called Wright, who is sending a team over to protect Dad, you don't have to worry about anything anymore, we have this under control," he insisted.

Charlie sagged in relief, and his eyes started slipping shut again; the pull of sleep was getting hard to ignore now.

"Charlie!" Don said loudly, trying to shake him awake. When that didn't do much, he resorted to another tactic. "Can you recite the Fibonacci sequence for me, Charlie? I need some help here, I can't remember them." Don knew that there were two things in life that Charlie would never ignore: numbers, and his brother in need.

Charlie had perked up slightly at the mention of Don's need for a sequence of numbers he could recite in his sleep. "0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144…" he trailed off, but Don was okay with that, as they were finally at the main road, and three ambulances were there, already starting to treat some of the agents for wounds they had gotten in the firefight, but nothing looked more serious than a graze, for which Don was thankful.

One of the medics hurried over as he saw the group coming out of the woods. "What have we got?" he demanded.

"Male, early thirties, he's been held hostage for several days, multiple unknown wounds," Colby said as Tim and David put the flimsy stretcher on the EMT's more durable one.

The medic took a quick look, and what he saw sickened him. The GSW on his thigh was the easiest to see, followed by the broken feet. Another medic had come over and unbuttoned Charlie's shirt, and everyone sucked in a breath of sympathy at the bruises that covered it. Don's face had hardened until it looked to be carved from ice, and David was starting to wonder if they needed to provide protection for the prisoners that were about to be escorted to jail until Charlie could make an ID.

The first medic looked quickly at the second. "We need to get this guy to Bethesda, now," he ordered. The second medic nodded and went to start up the bus as soon as they finished loading him.

"I'm going with you," Don stated. "I'm his brother," he said, forestalling the man's objections. At the mention of being family, the medic had nodded his acceptance, and they both climbed in. Don turned to his agents. "Call my dad, tell him where we are, he'll want to know. I'll meet you both at the hospital," he said quickly, and the door shut.

* * *

**A/N: I know I should have done more with the firefight, but I was too concerned with getting Charlie back, and his worries about their father. I know it's been heavy on the Numb3rs side, so I'll try to put in some more NCIS the next chapter. Let me know what you think of this one!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Wow, fourth chapter in a little over a week, I'm on a roll! **

**Warning: Spoilers for Numb3rs episodes Two Daughters and Primacy  
**

**Disclaimer: For the 20th time, I wish...  
**

* * *

"Is there anything else we need to know about him?" the medic asked.

"He mentioned that he hasn't had hardly anything to eat or drink since they grabbed him, so he's probably dehydrated and malnourished," Don said, rage still coursing through him as he looked at his little brother.

The medic nodded and grabbed the necessary IV bags, and quickly managed to find a good vein to use. Thankfully, the journey to the hospital was uneventful. Occasionally, Charlie would wake up long enough to mumble a few numbers, but was not coherent enough to answer any questions. They arrived at the hospital, and Don was told to stay in the waiting room. But there was something else he could do while he waited, and went up to the receptions desk. "Hi, I need the room numbers for NCIS Agent Gibbs, and FBI Agent Reeves," he told her as politely as he could, which probably was still rather tightly.

She barely looked up from her computer, typing in the names to get the room numbers. "And you are?" she asked.

Don flashed his badge. "Agent Eppes. Reeves and Gibbs were with me when they were injured, I would like to see them."

As soon as the nurse had looked up the room number, she gasped. "Oh, that's those two. Please, right this way," she said, and hurried to stand and lead him down the hallway.

"Is there a problem?" Don asked quickly. He had thought that their injuries weren't that bad, and David hadn't seemed very concerned when he had reported back… was it only that morning?

"They've been harassing the doctors and nurses since they were brought in," the nurse he was talking to said, breaking his train of thought. "They're fine, but need to stay for a while longer to finish their IVs, but have been trying to sign out AMA all day."

Don choked back a laugh. He knew how Megan was, since she had left the hospital the day after being kidnapped herself, and guessed that Gibbs was the same way, if not worse. They stopped outside of a room, and the nurse turned to look at him. "We put them together, hoping that would help. Please, let me know if you need anything," she told him.

"For starters, my brother is being looked at in the ER right now, so as soon as the doctor is finished, I need to know about it," he said, looking her in the eyes to let her know how serious he was, and she nodded, looking grave. "Also, there are a few more FBI agents coming in, and probably some NCIS agents as well, would you let them know where I am?" he asked, and she nodded again. He thanked her, then walked in. "Knock knock," he said. He was relieved to see both the agents sitting up in bed, neither looking too worse for wear.

"Don, did you find him?" Megan demanded, sitting up quickly, and winced. David had said that the vest, although it had saved her life, had still cracked a rib.

Don sat in a chair between the two beds. Only then did he realize just how tired he was. "Yeah, we got him. He's in the ER right now being looked at. I told the nurse to let me know as soon as the doctors know something."

Gibbs sat up as well. "Anyone else get injured?" he asked.

Don blinked, and realized he had no idea. "I'm not sure," he said sheepishly. "My team had gone into the cabin to get Charlie out, and there were a ton of perps there. After we got him out, Agent DiNozzo had said that there were four perps dead, the rest had been arrested. A few of the DC FBI were treated for grazes, but I'm sure I would have noticed if it was anything more serious."

Gibbs nodded. He hoped that his injury and Ziva's graze from a few days ago were the only injuries that NCIS suffered during this case. "How did he look?" he asked.

Looking away, Don didn't need to ask who 'he' was. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "He was awake and talking when we got to him, but was in and out in the ambulance, so I'm not sure."

Megan leaned forward, about to say something, when Don's phone rang. He hurried to get it out, since it was technically against hospital rules, and answered it. "Eppes."

"Agent Eppes, this is AD Wright."

Don stood, as though the man could see him clear across the country. "Yes, sir. Did you find anything out?"

"Tell your brother that he saved your father's life," Wright said bluntly. "Harrison's team beat two Israeli's to the house by minutes. Both the men are in custody now, and will be tried as soon as we can."

"How is my father?" he demanded.

"No injuries. He's pretty shook up, not surprising. He also tried to get a plane ticket to DC, but that's not the smartest thing to do. We have him set up in a safe house for now, until we can ascertain whether or not more people will be sent after him."

"Understood, sir. As soon as I have an update from the doctor's on Charlie's condition, will you pass it along to him?"

"Of course. I'm looking forward to hearing that as well." Wright hung up without a further word.

Don sat back down, closing his phone and putting it on vibrate, then reattaching it to his belt. Megan looked at him. "Wright?" she demanded. "What is going on with your dad?"

"When we got to Charlie, he told us to forget about him, and to get a team on dad as soon as possible. Thankfully, he was rather insistent about it, and Harrison's team got to dad just before a couple Israelis did."

Megan gasped. "Is he alright?"

"Wright said that he wasn't injured, but is trying to get here. They're keeping him in a safe house until they know for sure he's safe."

She nodded. "Of course. I can't believe that Charlie actually thought you'd forget about him, though."

Don agreed. "Whatever they threatened him with must have been pretty bad," Don said quietly.

Before anyone could say something further, two more agents entered the room. "Hey, boss," Ziva said with a smile.

Colby went over to Megan. "How you feeling?" he asked.

"Like I'm going to go nuts if I have to stay here much longer," she retorted, and Colby bit back a laugh.

"Anyone else injured?" Gibbs asked Ziva.

She shook her head. "None of the team was hurt," she told him. "Agent Saks was the worst off, he took a round through the shoulder, but the paramedics said that he would be fine." Gibbs just nodded in relief. "The other two were wondering if you wanted company or not," she said with a laugh.

Gibbs just looked at her and she nodded. "Understood, I'll let them know." She turned to leave, but was blocked by a doctor holding a file.

"I was told the person for Dr. Eppes was in here?" he asked, and Don shot to his feet, nearly falling back down.

"Yeah, I'm Don Eppes with the FBI, Charlie's my brother," he said, and paled slightly when the doctor pulled out a form.

"My name is Dr. O'Brien," he told Don. "Would you like to follow me, we can talk somewhere more private?"

Don shook his head as he waved to Megan and Colby. "They're practically family," he told the doctor. "How is he?"

"Your brother is not doing well," the doctor said gently. "He has a Grade 2 concussion, gunshot wound to the thigh, which has started to become infected, he has four broken ribs, his liver is badly bruised, and his left shoulder was dislocated and poorly put back into place. He also has malnutrition and severe dehydration." Here the doctor paused for a moment.

"And his feet?" Don asked in a whisper.

"There are 26 bones per foot and 107 ligaments. On your brother's right foot, 21 bones are broken with 3 torn ligaments, and on his left foot, 14 bones are broken, and one torn ligament. We are going to have to prep him for surgery immediately. There will be doctors there to work on his feet while another surgeon takes a look at his liver and his ribs, making sure that there isn't anything that our scans missed. Now, normally we would simply do these two procedures at separate times; however, I believe that if you brother wishes to walk again, we need to operate at once. After he has a few hours to rest from those surgeries, we will have another in order to look at his leg, but we're pumping him with antibiotics to try and keep the infection at bay."

Don was silent, soaking in the nauseating list of injuries. Colby was the first to speak up. "What aren't you telling us?" he asked.

The doctor sighed. "The combination of dehydration and the concussion makes the surgery slightly more dangerous. There is a chance he may not make it," he said as gently as he could.

Don's vision grayed at the edges, and he felt Colby rush over to steady him. The team leader gripped his agent tightly, trying to compartmentalize for a few more minutes. Then he could run into the bathroom and lose it. "You have forms you need me to sign?" he asked.

The doctor nodded. He hated cases like this, where the victim clearly had people who cared. He pulled the papers that he needed, and handed them to the man along with a pen. "We looked up your brother's information, and you are listed first as his next of kin."

Don swallowed. He would have thought for sure that their father was Charlie's next of kin, but when did the youngest do anything expected? Don hurried to sign his name on the lines marked, then looked up at the doctor and allowed himself to sound as close to begging as he could. "Can I see him before you take him into surgery?"

The doctor paused. It was against regulation to allow it, but he could see the haunted look in this man's eyes, which told of a lot of sleepless nights and fear for the patient. He nodded. "You only have a little while, but maybe giving the IV fluids a little more time to work would be helpful," he said.

Don turned to Colby, who just nodded. "I'll tell David and Ian what's going on."

"And Wright," Don croaked. The lump in his throat was almost painful at this point. "But don't let him tell our dad. Not until…" he trailed off, unable to voice the words, as though they would make it happen.

Colby simply nodded, and watched as the two men left the room. Now, Megan and Gibbs' room was deathly silent. "He saved my life last month," Colby whispered, and the NCIS agents looked up at him as Megan nodded. "Charlie, his girlfriend and I had walked into a trap laid by the killer we were chasing. I got Charlie and Amita out of there, but I was swept away by the overflow from the dam we were standing in. Charlie managed to pull me out of there before I was killed."

Megan nodded from her bed. "Don't forget about last year," she told him, voice suspiciously wavering. "If he hadn't told you guys were to find me when Chrystal kidnapped me, I would've been dead long before you got there."

Gibbs and Ziva stayed silent, letting the FBI agents get a hold of their emotions. Finally, Colby cleared his throat. "I'll send the other agents in, if you would like?" he asked Gibbs, who nodded. He didn't have the heart to object to anything right now.

Colby squeezed Megan's shoulder. "I'm going to go let everyone know what's going on. I'll be back, soon." As soon as he finished talking he left, heading for the waiting room, where he had some crappy news to give.

* * *

**A/N: I am not a doctor and never will be one, so allow me a little slack with the medical aspect, the only thing I was able to look up was the total number of bones and ligaments in the feet, and decided to bs from there. Let me know what you think?**


	21. Chapter 21

**Hey all. Been a while, and not an exciting chapter, more of a filler. Sorry, but it's finals week, and I'm almost brain dead at the moment. But still, I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Still not mine etc etc  
**

* * *

Don followed Dr. O'Brien through the halls of the hospital, and tried to slow his breathing. His need to see his brother was growing with every step he took, and if it weren't for the fact that he didn't know which room his brother was in, he would have ran and left the doctor behind. Finally, they arrived at a room, and the doctor paused.

"I'll give you a few minutes alone while I ensure the OR is finished being prepped," he told the agent, and left.

Don took a split second to collect himself, then walked into the room. His breath caught as he saw his brother lying so vulnerably on the bed. "Hey, buddy," he said softly, holding one of Charlie's hands between his.

Charlie cracked open an eye. "Donnie?"

"It's me. I just came to tell you a few things." Charlie nodded, so Don continued. "First, you did good telling us about dad. My boss sent a team to get him, he's at a safe house right now. You did good," he said, as Charlie's eyes filled slightly. "Also, I just spoke to the doctor. Sounds like you haven't had that restful break you were talking about," he teased gently.

Charlie managed a smile. "Next time, I'll stay and help on a case," he promised.

Don choked back the sob that had been threatening for a while now. He only had a bit longer, and he wasn't going to waste it. "Listen, Charlie. I know that you are in a lot of pain, and you've gone through a hell that I can't begin to understand. But I need you to do something for me."

Charlie tried to sit up slightly, then winced and fell back down. "Anything, Don, you know that. You saved my life today."

"The doc said that the surgery you are about to have is pretty risky." Don didn't like having to tell his brother this, but he needed to do it, at least for Charlie to understand what Don needed. "Doc seems pretty optimistic, but you need to promise that you are going to stay with me, alright? I know you're hurting, but I need you to come back, alright?"

A tear fell down Charlie's bruised face, and Don gently wiped it away. "I'll always be there, Donnie," he whispered.

Don knew his time was out when a nurse knocked on the door. He nodded to her once, then lifted his brother's hand and squeezed it. "I'll be waiting for you, buddy. See you in a few hours."

Charlie tried to smile, and nodded back at him. "You got it, jock."

* * *

Colby walked into the waiting room, and thought for a moment that he was back at the FBI, since there were so many agents there. His confusion must have shown on his face since David came up to him. "Everyone else is fine, Saks was the worst, and he's about to be released. Everyone was waiting to hear about Charlie." The unasked question hung in the air.

Colby felt a lump form in his throat. If there was one thing that all agents could agree on, it was that you never messed with one of their own. Even though none of these agents had met the mathematician, they acknowledged him as one of them. Colby cleared his throat, then motioned David, Ian, Tony, and McGee to follow him to an empty corner in the room. He looked first at the NCIS agents. "Ziva is with Gibbs and Megan. They'll be fine, but you can go see them if you want."

"First, have you heard anything about Charlie?" Tim asked worriedly, Tony and David nodding in agreement.

Colby sighed. "He's alive, they're taking him to surgery right now, then another surgery later once he's recovered slightly."

Ian was the first to speak. "You know what his injuries are?" he asked matter-of-factly, though it wasn't how he was feeling. This wasn't some random victim, this was the professor.

"Concussion, malnutrition, dehydration, four broken ribs, bruised liver, dislocated shoulder that was set badly, gunshot wound to the thigh which is infected, and a lot of broken bones and ligaments in his feet. They're looking at his feet and liver now, they'll do surgery on his GSW later tonight or tomorrow." He took a breath. "There's a chance he won't make it through the surgery… he's pretty weak."

Tim felt the ground crumble beneath him, and the FBI agents weren't faring much better. David's face was filled with such worry, and Edgerton looked furious. "Where's Eppes?" the sniper asked.

"Doctor let him see Charlie for a minute before they took him to surgery. He'll probably come on down after that." Colby sighed, then looked at David. "Would you call Wright and tell him? I'd do it myself, but I…" he trailed off, raking a hand over his face. The fitful sleep he'd gotten in the woods was catching up to him.

David nodded, understanding what his partner was needing. "Got it, you go get some coffee," he ordered with a small smile. He pulled out his cell and walked a ways away.

Colby walked towards the coffee machine. Normally, he never drank the swill, hospital coffee was nasty stuff, but right now he just needed the caffeine. Edgerton followed him over as the NCIS agents went up to see their team leader.

"The professor is going to be fine," Ian said quietly.

Colby closed his eyes tightly as he leaned against the machine. "Don't do that. That crap is what we say to families to make them feel better. We both know this might not go the way we want it to."

Ian nodded. "Agreed. We both know that he's a fighter, though." The sniper clapped a hand on his shoulder and left to go pace off the excess nerves he had.

Not long later, Don returned to the waiting room, looking around at all the agents still there. "Everyone alright?" he asked David worriedly.

The agent nodded. "They're just waiting on news of Charlie."

Don just nodded and turned to all the DC agents. "Hey, you guys can stay if you want, but the surgery is going to take a few hours, and he has another one after that. So I'd say go home, shower, get some rest. I can make sure that you all know how he is in the morning," he promised.

Fornell nodded to the agents, and they left. He looked at Don. "You staying?" he asked.

Don looked at him like he was crazy. "Of course I'm staying," he said heatedly.

Fornell just nodded. "I'll bring some dinner for you and your agents. Hospital food sucks," he said, and then turned and left.

Don was shocked and touched at the gesture, then remembered that Fornell had an agent that was being looked at as well, since he didn't see Saks around. He made his way over to a chair in the corner and sat on the hard plastic, putting his head in his hands. He wished Robin was here, she always made things easier. He pulled out his cell and dialed the number.

"Robin Brooks," she answered quickly.

"Hey," he breathed.

"Don! How's the case going? Have you found him yet?" she demanded, hearing the pain and fatigue in his voice.

"Yeah, we got him," he told her, and echoed her sigh. "He's in surgery right now, and he'll have another one pretty soon after that."

Robin smiled in relief. "I'm glad you found him, and I'm sure the surgeries are going to go great. Have you called your father yet?"

Don growled. "No, I can't. He's at a safe house right now, Charlie gave us a warning, and we managed to get a few agents on him soon enough."

"Soon enough? Don, what's going on?" Robin demanded.

"I can't give you specifics, but this could be bigger than we thought. The people who had Charlie were going to grab our father to use as leverage. He's at a safe house with the FBI for now, so I can't tell him about Charlie."

She could hear the agony in his voice. "What can I do?" she begged.

Don thought about that, but his brain was close to fried. "Can you call Amita for me? Don't give her specifics, just let her know we found him and he's in the hospital, and that we can't answer anything yet?"

Robin nodded, then realized he couldn't see her. "Of course I will. How are you holding up?"

"I'm not sure. It's still sinking in, you know?"

"I understand. I'll go call Amita, but will you let me know after Charlie's surgery how it went?"

"Sure, not a problem," he said, and yawned. Like Colby, the sleepless night and the busy day were leaving him drained.

"You're about to crash. Get some rest, I'll call you in few hours if I haven't heard anything."

"Thanks, Robin," he said quietly, and hung up the phone. He looked around, and saw his two agents and Ian by the coffee machine talking, but decided he was too tired to get up right now. Leaning his head back, he closed his eyes and waited.

* * *

**A/N: Bit shorter than usual, and I wasn't expecting to put Robin in this chapter, but I figured Don needed someone other than the guys to talk to. We'll get back to the NCIS agents soon, as well as Charlie's prognosis. **


	22. Chapter 22

**I'm alive! A million apologies to my wonderful fans who have still been subscribing and adding this to their favorites, they have been so wonderful. Real life can truly suck sometimes, but I am glad that no one gave up on me.**

**There's a lot more NCIS than Numb3rs in this one, since I realized I hadn't added much of them. This is kind of a filler, but I was wanting a bit more character interaction this time. I hope you all like!  
**

**Disclaimer: Do I really have to? Fine, I don't own it. Happy?  
**

* * *

Tony and McGee walked up to their boss's room, and saw Megan lying on the bed, picking at a thread in her sheets while Ziva was rubbing her shoulder while talking with Gibbs.

"Hiya, boss," Tony said in forced cheerfulness.

Gibbs rolled his eyes. "Cut the crap. Ziva was filling us in on what happened since we left."

So Tony and Tim pulled up chairs and joined the conversation. They gave everything from their point of view during the firefight and the aftermath, and heard Ziva's account of tracking the kidnappers' trail. They had been talking for about an hour when Tony realized that Megan hadn't said a word since they'd walked in. He walked over and sat by the chair next to her bed. "How you doing?" he asked quietly.

Megan started, as she hadn't really been paying much attention to the conversations around her. "I'm doing alright," she told him.

Tony snorted. "Yeah, and I'm Fornell. Come on, you can be honest with me."

Megan stiffened. "Tony, I'm alright. My IV is nearly done, and then I'll be heading down to the waiting room." Just as she said that, an annoying beeping interrupted them, and she looked up to see her IV bag empty.

A nurse came in to take a look. "Well, Ms. Reeves, you are free to leave," she said disapprovingly, but knowing how much her patient wanted to be out of the bed. She hurried to take the needles out, turn off the monitors, and handed her the paperwork. "Just sign here for me."

Megan hurried to scrawl her name at the bottom, and grabbed the bad her clothes were in, practically running to the bathroom to change. The nurse looked over at Gibbs and took a look at his IV. "Yours should be done in about half an hour. Sit tight for me," she said sternly and left.

Megan came out a few minutes later, shrugging her FBI jacket on over the bandage on her arm that was covering the stitches. "I'll be down in the waiting room," she told them, and left quickly.

Ziva tried to hide her grin, but she failed. "She is nearly as bad as you are," she told Gibbs. When she received a glare, his agents all laughed.

"You're pretty bad, boss," Tony was brave enough to say.

"I'm not as bad as Ziver, here," was the response as he looked pointedly at her shoulder.

Ziva glared at him. "It is perfectly fine."

"The way you've been rubbing it says something different," McGee noted.

A doctor had walked in just in time to hear that comment. "It sounds like I have another patient to look at?" he asked mildly.

Ziva sent another glare at McGee. "I am fine, doctor."

"Why don't you let me be the judge of that," he told her. "Let me just take a quick look."

Ziva could tell that she was outnumbered, so she took off her jacket and rolled up the sleeve. The doctor peered at it for a few moments before pulling out his prescription pad. "It's a bit infected, but not too bad. That's why you've been rubbing at it. Here's a script for some antibiotics, you can fill this at the pharmacy downstairs."

"Thank you, doctor," she said quickly, relieved that she didn't have to be admitted. She hated hospitals and doctors.

The doctor then looked at Gibbs' IV. "This should be done in a bit, I'll send a nurse in to give you some paperwork to fill out."

* * *

Megan got into the waiting room and looked around. She could see Ian's profile outside, Don with his head resting against the wall, probably asleep, and David and Colby in the corner, talking quietly. She made her way over to them.

"Well, look who it is," David said with a half smile. "You break out, or did they let you go?"

Megan scowled at him. "I waiting for the IV to finish and signed the paperwork. Give me some credit!"

Colby scoffed, but had a teasing smile on his face. "Says the woman who left the hospital the day after being kidnapped and nearly dying."

Megan ignored the comment. "Any word?" she asked, glancing over again at Don.

David shook his head. "Not yet. Fornell said he was going to bring dinner for us, and the doctors mentioned that the surgery would take a while. Saks is the only one that was admitted. The shot was a bit more complicated than the paramedics thought, but the doctors are expecting a full recovery of that arm with some physical therapy."

Megan just nodded and took a seat. She smiled at Colby when he handed her a coffee. "Anything new about the case?" she asked.

"Not much," Colby said heavily. "Of course, we haven't heard a lot, there may have been developments. They clearly have a pretty big network around the area, and the FBI is trying to find out how the kidnappers knew we were coming, but that mystery hasn't been solved yet. They do know that the main kidnapper, Asaf Sayar, was shot and killed at the cabin. Ballistics is trying to find out whose weapon it was, and whether it was ours or theirs that killed him. Also, once Charlie is doing better, they'll have him try and ID anyone he can."

Megan nodded. She did know that a case this big would take a while to be solved. At least they would be able to tell Charlie that the man who kidnapped him was dead. It should help with the worry he'd likely feel when he got out of surgery.

They sat in silence for a while until the four NCIS agents joined them. Gibbs was walking with a cane to keep the pressure off his leg, which he was teased half heartedly for. Fornell returned and joined them halfway through.

"Well, Jethro, finally looking your age, are you?" he joked, setting down the pizza boxes he'd brought with him.

Gibbs just glared at him as he finished off his coffee. He looked up, startled, as Sinclair came back into the room carrying a tray full of fresh coffees and bottles of water. He gave the agent a nod of thanks, and everyone dug into the first good meal they'd had in a few days.

Fornell ate quickly and excused himself, going to find a nurse that could tell him Saks's room number. Tony looked over at Tim, surprised to find him staring at the plate of food and not eating any of it. He walked over, concerned.

"How you doing, Probie?" he asked as he sat down.

McGee shrugged. "Doing fine, I guess."

Tony suppressed a snort with difficulty. "You know, you're the second person that's tried to sell that to me today. Try again, only this time, don't lie."

McGee glared at him. "What are you wanting me to say? It's been a tough week, alright? I was really looking forward to having Charlie coming down, but now I wish I had never invited him. Now he might be dying on a table because I did."

Tony sighed. "It's not your fault, McGee," he replied. "We both know that, and I'm sure that as soon Charlie comes out of there, he's going to be able to tell you that himself."

McGee just shrugged again and started eating, thought it was mechanical, something to keep his mind off of everything that was going on.

Colby was getting pretty antsy. He looked over at Don, but he was still asleep in the seat he'd been in for the past few hours, and everyone was loathe to wake him up, knowing that it was probably the best sleep he'd had since Charlie went missing. They had saved him some of the pizza so that he could eat when he got up. He was about to go outside and talk with Ian, who was still pacing, but then a doctor in a white coat walked out.

"Family of Charles Eppes?"

* * *

**A/N: I know, I always leave my stories here, but I thought it was enough to get me back into the swing of things. I'll try to update a bit quicker now, but I won't guarantee anything. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoyed the update, even the cliffhanger!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Here's another update. Sorry for the wait, I was on vacation in San Diego and didn't have my laptop, which was rather frustrating. Anyways, a good friend of mine told me that I couldn't end it where I had planned, that there was still a plot that I needed to expand on. So I shall try to do my best on it.**

**Disclaimer: Oh, how I wish...**

* * *

"_Family of Charles Eppes?"_

Don's head snapped up at the words, as though he'd been waiting for them, which he really had been. He stood quickly and hurried over, the rest of the agents slowly stood and walked towards each other, not close enough to hear, but close enough to watch Don's reaction. David hurried outside to grab Ian, who was on his cell phone. The sniper bit out a quick goodbye to the person he was talking to and snapped it closed. They walked back in and over to the other agents, keeping an eye on the agent speaking with the doctor.

"I'm Don Eppes, Charlie's brother. How is he?" Don demanded.

The doctor sighed. "The surgery went alright. It wasn't great, but we managed to set all the bones in his feet, set the ribs properly, reset the shoulder, and repaired the liver. His heart stopped for about a minute while he was on the table, but we managed to get it going again."

Don swayed slightly. Hearing that his baby brother had technically died for a short while was tough for anyone to hear, even a hardened FBI agent. "Is he doing alright? Can I see him?"

The doctor shook his head at the last question. "He is doing better, but I can't let you in to see him. The infection on his leg has gotten even worse, so we can't wait any longer to look to it. We are going to take him into surgery here shortly, once he has a little while to rest. This one shouldn't take quite as long, but obviously there are no guarantees. I will let you know how he is as soon as I can," the doctor promised before turning and going back out the double doors he'd come from.

Don stared. He had so many questions, and didn't get a chance to ask any of them. He sighed and turned around to sit back down, but saw the eight other agents waiting for him. He went to his seat and sat down. "They're going to rush him back into surgery for his GSW, turns out it was a lot worse than they had thought originally. The first surgery went alright, though his heart stopped for a minute on the table, but they got it going again."

All the agents were feeling a mix of emotions: anger, sadness, helplessness, weariness, and hope. Colby, though, grabbed the pizza box and shoved it at his boss.

"Colby…" Don started, but his agent would have none of it.

"You have to eat, Don," Colby said in a no-nonsense voice. "You haven't had a bite all day, and with the firefight this morning, you're going to pass out if you don't get something in your stomach." He was speaking from experience. After some of the skirmishes he'd had in Afghanistan, he knew that it was important to keep your strength up no matter what.

Don tried glaring at him, but he really couldn't. He knew that he would be doing the same thing for his agents if they were in his shoes. He took the box and pulled out a slice, chewing automatically, though to him it tasted as though it were made from sawdust.

* * *

Fornell came back into the waiting room a short while later, and Gibbs limped over to talk to him. "How's Saks doing?" he asked as they sat down out of earshot of the LA team and the other NCIS agents.

Fornell gave him a small smile. "He's doing alright. The doctors think he should be out in a few days. The bullet didn't do much damage, they said."

Gibbs just nodded. "Good. That's good to hear," he said, his mind clearly elsewhere.

"What are you thinking about, Jethro?" Fornell asked. He hadn't known the man for this long without picking up a few things.

Gibbs looked at him for a moment. "How did they know we were coming?" When the other agent didn't respond, he looked down. "Think we might have a leak?"

Fornell sighed. He had been wondering the same thing ever since the first safe house was found to empty. "I don't know, Jethro. I can call the office, see how they're coming on the interrogations."

Gibbs shook his head and stood. "I'm going in. Tell them to expect me."

Fornell shook his head as he stood. "I can't let you do that. We don't want to risk anything for the court case…" he trailed off, seeing the familiar look on his face. He sighed again. "Fine, I'll tell AD Brown to expect you. Don't do anything stupid," he warned.

Gibbs just gave him a grin, then turned to find his agents. He saw Ziva resting her head against the wall a few feet away from the others, but she was talking quietly with Reeves. They made an interesting sight, as they were both rubbing sore shoulders, but both had refused to wear a sling. McGee and Tony were talking with David and Colby. "DiNozzo," he barked, and his Senior Agent looked over at him.

Tony ended the conversation he was having with the LA team and walked over. He had found that he really got along well with Colby. The guy seemed like a good person. "What's up, boss?" he asked quickly.

"We're going to the FBI office. You're driving," was all he would say.

Tony just nodded. "Got it, boss. You want to wait while I bring the car around?" When Gibbs just looked at him, he tried to hide a grin. "Got it. Car's parked on the other side," he said, and lead the way.

* * *

Don looked up from the food he was forcing himself to eat. He watched the two NCIS agents leave, and the FBI agent on the other side watching them. He threw down his half eaten slice and made his way over to him. "What was that all about?" he demanded from Fornell.

The other man shook his head. "Gibbs had some things he wanted to get done. He might be back again sometime later."

Don looked at him. "You aren't going to give me anymore than that, are you?" he deduced. When the man stayed silent, he continued. "That's fine, since I was going to stay here for news on Charlie anyway. But if things start to heat up again, I need to know. I have agents protecting my father in LA. I'll need to know if the situation has changed."

Fornell looked at the man for the first time. I mean, really looked at him. This time he didn't just see the brother of the vic who happened to be an FBI agent. This time, he saw the head of the Violent Crimes Squad who was struggling to keep his professionalism at a time when it would be nearly impossible for anyone else to do so.

"You got it, Agent Eppes."

* * *

**A/N: Should I keep going with the current plot thought? I'm working on the next chapter and almost finished with it, but I'm trying to do more justice to Gibbs' character than I used to do, so it's a bit of trial and error. Anyways, let me know what you think!**


	24. Chapter 24

**Yay, fast update! This is a bit longer than the last couple, simply because I couldn't stop until I had covered what was going on in a couple places. Well, I hope, like always, that you enjoy!**

**Do I need to keep reminding you that I own nothing but this computer?**

* * *

Director Shepard was sitting at her desk, trying to focus on the file in front of her. She was aware of the case that had wrapped up their best team for the past week. The last she had heard was from DiNozzo as they were on their way to the hospital, and that was hours ago. Part of her wanted to leave for home, but she was waiting on a call. She knew that Gibbs had been injured the day before, and wanted to know how the rest of the team was doing; not to mention the Professor and the FBI team from LA.

Her thoughts were interrupted when her phone rang. She had already sent home her assistant for the day, so she hurried to grab it herself. "Director Shepard," she answered.

"Jen, we got a problem," a familiar voice answered.

Jenny tried not to let herself go weak with relief at hearing his voice. She knew that it wasn't that bad, but she was worried nonetheless. Then she focused on keeping up the Director part of herself. "What's the problem, Agent Gibbs?"

"I assume DiNozzo already briefed you this morning?"

"He did. Is there something that you wish to add?" she asked, pulling the file towards herself.

"I need to talk to AD Brown. Right now," he demanded.

Jenny sat up straighter at that. "I'm assuming that you already talked with Agent Fornell about that?"

"Can you get him to meet with me, Jen?" Gibbs asked wearily.

She sighed. Getting answers out of Jethro was sometimes impossible, and she could tell that he was purposefully being tightlipped about this. "I can call him. Don't expect a miracle, Jethro," she warned.

"Thanks," he told her, and closed the phone.

Tony had been trying not to listen to their conversation as he drove. It was nearly an hour later that he parked the car at the FBI HQ. They made their way in and saw AD Brown waiting for them. He looked slightly less than pleased to see them there.

"Gibbs, DiNozzo, what the hell are you doing here?" Brown demanded. There were a few rookies who had never seen the AD before, who were giving them a wide berth. Gibbs thought that was probably a smart thing to do at the moment, given how ticked the AD was. No reason for a newbie to get suspended for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"I need to talk to the prisoners," Gibbs told him.

Brown shook his head. "Not a chance. We have the opportunity to put these bastards down a very deep hole, and I'm not about to do anything to risk changing that."

Gibbs' expression didn't change, and Tony decided to step in. "Is there anywhere that we could talk about this with a bit more privacy?" he asked, looking pointedly at all the attention they were getting, since they were still standing in the lobby.

Brown snarled something under his breath and made his way into the elevator. Not a word was spoken as they made their way to the top of the building. Tony was trying not to laugh, as the elevator music that was playing was directly opposite of the mood in the small room.

When the elevator stopped, Brown led them towards his office, and stopped long enough to glare at his assistant. "Carla, we aren't to be disturbed."

She just nodded, unfazed by his tone. "Understood, Director," she said as she continued with her work. She was clearly used to the man's attitude by now.

Brown sat himself behind his impressive desk and nodded towards the chairs he had set up for his meetings. "Well, gentlemen, this is as much privacy as you could possibly want. Now explain to me why I should even consider the request to have NCIS taking part in the interrogations."

Gibbs sat down on the offered chair and rubbed his leg slightly. "You know, it was the strangest thing. We made it to the safe house where they were keeping Dr. Eppes, and he wasn't there. They were clearly working off of intel that they had gotten, and were able to move Eppes before we got there."

Brown stared at him. "You are actually suggesting that there is a leak somewhere in the investigation? How do you know that it isn't in NCIS?"

Gibbs shrugged. "I don't. That's why I want to talk to them, find out what they know."

Brown seemed to be debating with himself. On the one hand, this was possibly explosive, and needed to be dealt with as soon as possible, and as discreetly as possible. On the other hand, he never liked to hand over any control to another agency if he could help it.

He sighed and leaned forward to put his head into his hands. He looked up at the two NCIS agents who were waiting for his answer and looked Gibbs in the eyes. "Fine, you've got your place in the interrogation rooms."

Gibbs just gave him a nod, and he and Tony left the office. Tony gave the secretary a wink as they walked out.

"So, boss. The main kidnapper was killed at the scene. Where are we going to start?" Tony asked, honestly curious.

"Well, you are going to find out who the FBI has talked to so far. I want to know what they've said, and who they've pointed the finger at so far as to who the original kidnappers were."

"On it, boss," Tony said automatically, hurrying away.

Gibbs frowned. There really was something that wasn't right about all of this. He knew that he was getting close to the end of his own jurisdiction. The only reason he had been able to be a part of the investigation was because of Ziva getting shot, and the fact that it was his team that was at the scene, not the FBI. But now that the professor was rescued, there wasn't much rope for him to hang onto.

He shook his head. He didn't care about all of that red tape bullshit. Right now, he had a possible leak to take care of, the best way he knew how. He spotted a couch in the hallway and lowered himself down. Right now, he just need to give DiNozzo a bit of time to work, and not do anything to aggravate his leg.

Gibbs wasn't thrilled at the painkillers he was still on, as they were making his thoughts fuzzy, and it was difficult to focus on one thing for any length of time. When his cell rang, he pulled it out.

"Yeah, Gibbs," he answered.

"Gibbs, this is Edgerton," the sniper answered. He was back outside the hospital, well out of earshot of the other agents.

Gibbs sat up straighter. "Has there been news on anything?" he asked, thinking of Saks and the younger Eppes brother.

Edgerton shook his head. "No, not with the… patients," he said. The agent was clearly struggling to distance himself from the case. "As you know, I might be considered an LA agent, but I have plenty of contacts nationwide. One of them is in DC, and he just called me."

Gibbs gripped the phone. "What did you find out?"

"Listen, what I've been hearing is pretty big, and I for one don't always trust phones, especially when we are talking about a leak in the Bureau. Where are you right now?"

Gibbs looked around. "Meet me in the lobby. How soon can you be here?"

"I'll be there in," Ian checked his watch, "less than an hour, depending on traffic."

"Till then," Gibbs said, and hung up. He got up and hurried to the elevator. What could the sniper have found out that he was too nervous to mention over the phone? True, electronic communication was by no means secure, but Ian's tone rankled him for some reason. He would just need to wait for him to get there and find out what he knew.

* * *

Ian hung up the phone, and made his way back inside. He saw Eppes pacing along the far wall, and decided not to mention anything to him. Ian had learned over the past few years that Don's biggest Achilles Heel was Charlie, and that nothing would stop Don when he got going on something that concerned his younger brother. He really didn't want to place himself directly in harm's way. Instead, he made his way over to Megan.

"Reeves, you got a second?" he asked, interrupting her conversation with Ziva.

Megan looked at him intently, and he mentally cursed his decision. While Megan was in charge right behind Don, he sometimes forgot that she was a profiler. Oh well, too late to change his mind. She nodded at him. "Be right back," she told the Officer, and followed Ian outside. "What's going on?" Then she paused. "Does this have anything to do with why Gibbs and Tony took off out of here earlier?"

Edgerton grinned. She was certainly a quick one. "Yeah, it does. Look, I need to get out of here for a while, see if I can help them out at all. Cover for me?"

Megan thought for a moment. Something about all of this really wasn't sitting right with her, and it had nothing to do with inter agency politics. She decided to strike a compromise. "Take David with you," she said. Seeing the look on his face, she continued patiently. "Look, you know that this isn't my way of saying that I don't trust you. You know that all of us do, or we wouldn't have called you in. Something about this case has been sending shivers down my spine, and I want everyone to be safe with no more bullet holes."

Ian nodded as he thought about that. It made sense to travel in pairs until they had a better idea of who and what they were dealing with. "Fine, you've got yourself a deal. How are we going to explain this to Don?"

Megan grinned, flashing her teeth at him. "You let me deal with him. I know how his mind works, especially at a time like this."

He just chuckled darkly as they made their way back in. He went over to David as Megan made her way to Don.

"David, can I talk to you?" he asked, though the agent was alone, as Colby was talking with McGee.

"Sure, what's going on?" David asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"I need to go and meet with Gibbs and DiNozzo over at FBI HQ. Megan's going to cover, but she pointed out that none of us should be travelling alone right now. Want to come with?"

David stood quickly. "Hell yes. Anything beats sitting around waiting for news."

"Good man," he replied, clapping him on the shoulder, and the two looked over at Don.

* * *

"You want me to agree for two agents to leave, and I can't know why?" Don demanded, fists clenching as he looked at his profiler.

Megan stood her ground. "That's exactly what I want you to do. Listen, Don, we both know that Edgerton is not under your orders on this, and neither of us want him to go out alone, so we should send David, who is the most rested and level headed of all of us. If you go, you are going to be distracted, waiting on news from Charlie."

Don sighed, knowing that she was right on all counts. "Fine, they can go. But I'm still in charge of the investigation, so I need updates on what is going on. That clear, Agent Reeves?" he snapped.

She simply nodded. "Crystal, Agent Eppes," she told him, and went to give the news to Ian and David who were waiting by the doors.

* * *

**Thoughts? Suggestions? I think I'm doing alright with Gibbs, but I'm never sure with him...**


	25. Chapter 25

**Alrighty, yet another update. This story is pouring out of me almost quicker than I can type it. I hope you are all enjoying reading it as much as I am writing it.**

**Disclaimer: They gave me the rights to Numb3rs, then I tortured Charlie and got them taken away :-)**

* * *

Ian parked his car and walked into the FBI lobby with David. He hadn't filled in the other agent in on anything yet, not trusting that his car hadn't been bugged, since it was unattended at the scene overnight, as well as the entire time he'd been at the hospital.

They saw Gibbs and Tony talking over in a corner and made their way over to them. "Gibbs, follow me," Ian said shortly.

Gibbs gave the agent a look, but nodded and followed him through the halls. He wondered where they were going, but they stopped at a small room that looked as though it used to be a closet and had been converted to an office.

Ian let everyone in and closed the door, double checking that there were no cameras or recorders. He spent so much time in DC that he had asked for a small office to do his paperwork, which was the bane of his existence. Being as paranoid as he was, he made sure that any modifications that were made in his absence would be clear, and he didn't see anything out of the ordinary, as dust covered nearly every inch. Perfect.

"Look, I know that I'm probably being over cautious, but experience has taught me it's important."

Gibbs just shrugged. "What have you got?" he asked.

Ian leaned against the corner of his desk. "I don't know if you have gotten any information about the interviews with the suspects yet…"

"Actually," Tony said, picking up on what Edgerton was saying. "I spoke with a few of the agents. Apparently the two suspects that flew back to LA to kidnap the father of the Eppes brothers were the two others who were mostly involved in the kidnappings. So far, eight of the suspects have said as much."

"That makes sense, trying to seem as innocent as possible in all of this," Ian muttered. "All the same, I'll put a call in to Wright, see if I can find out what they're saying. Until the professor is out of surgery and awake, we don't have any positive IDs on the main players in this." He sighed. "I did a little digging myself. One of the crews from the cleanup squad at both the house and the cabin they were keeping the professor called me about some papers they found. There was one name that popped up immediately for both of us. Hadar Bray."

David's jaw dropped. "Are you sure about that?" he asked.

Tony glanced at Gibbs, who looked as confused as he felt. "Are we supposed to know that name?" he asked.

Ian chuckled darkly. "I understand if you don't, but Fornell would. Hadar Bray was just given the position of Section Chief. He's Fonell's boss."

Gibbs straightened. "When was he promoted? What do you know about him?"

Ian folded his arms. "His mother is American, his father was Palestinian and killed during the war: car bomb. Hadar has worked his way up the FBI ladder quickly. He was promoted less than two months ago."

Tony cursed under his breath. "What evidence was there at the scenes?"

"Other than the main kidnapper Asaf Sayar's phone having a 45 second call from Bray less than five minutes after Eppes called Fornell for backup on his way to the first scene?" Ian asked.

Gibbs thought hard. "Well, it's a start, but we're going to need more incriminating evidence before we try to take Bray down. I don't think we could even take this to Brown."

Ian shook his head. "Hell no. From what I hear, they're good friends; they go to the shooting range together nearly once a week. He would warn Bray before we could even make a move."

"So we're back to square one." Tony looked at the other three agents. "We need to talk to the suspects and find out what they know. If one of them has evidence against Bray, then we have something we can use."

"True, however we also have to keep a close eye on the suspect and make sure that no 'accident' happens to them before we can get them on tape," Ian pointed out.

"What if Bray isn't working alone?" Gibbs inquired. "We could lose everything by one person saying the wrong thing to the wrong person."

"What we need is to interrogate these people alone, without any other FBI interference. If they indict someone, then we move them as quickly and as quietly as we can to you guys at NCIS. I'm sorry, but I don't trust anyone here right now with this," David said. He was getting a bit nervous. This whole situation was getting pretty hot. What he wouldn't give for his own desk and a good old fashioned bank robbery right now.

Gibbs nodded. "Do you have enough pull that you can get everyone else away from the room we'll be using to talk to them?" he asked Ian.

Edgerton thought hard. "I'll do what I can. If nothing else, I can pull rank, since I'm a bit higher than some of the other jokers they'll have keeping an eye on you two. Plus it's getting late, and it'll be a changing of the guards, so to speak. We can use that to our advantage."

David broke in. "If worst comes to worst, we can always get Don in here. The victim's brother he might be, but he has run his own office, and is head of the Violent Crimes Squad in LA. That's plenty of pull right there. I'd rather not bring him in, though, if we can help it. At least, not yet."

Gibbs and Tony nodded. "Let's get to work."

* * *

Don checked his watch yet again. He was sure that the floor he'd been pacing was now worn down at least a few centimeters from the rest of the tile floor. It was now after midnight. Ian and David had left over four hours ago, and he hadn't heard a word from anyone since.

"Agent Eppes?" someone called.

Don spun his head around so fast that his neck cracked. He ignored it and ran over. "Is the surgery over?" he demanded.

The doctor nodded. "We repaired the damage to his leg. The bullet went through his femur, causing some damage, but we did what we could and put a cast on it. He's been moved to Recovery and you can see him shortly."

Don's legs buckled and he sat hard in a chair. "So he's okay?" he asked in a whisper.

The doctor was careful to keep his face neutral. "I wouldn't say he's completely out of the woods just yet. He is still dehydrated and malnourished. He is on IVs for both of those, as well as blood transfusions for what he lost. We have to regulate the amount of pain medication he can have, because of the concussion. I have hope that he will make it through the night. If he does, I will be much more optimistic."

Don started shaking slightly. He was hoping for better news, but he wasn't going to complain. "When can I see him?"

"I will have a nurse come out and show you to his room. I realize that as the victim of a violent crime, that you will need pictures and a file?"

Don was trying to think, but all he could think about what his brother. Colby seemed to realize that the doctor was waiting for something, and walked over.

"Agent Granger," he introduced himself. He looked worriedly at Don, who hadn't acknowledged his presence. "Was there something that I could help with?"

The doctor smiled slightly. "I was simply double checking that you would need photos and a file for Charles Eppes."

Colby nodded. "That's correct. Anything you have, we'll need in order to prosecute those responsible." He stuck out his hand. "Thank you doctor. Will Don be able to see Charlie tonight?"

The doctor nodded. "Only him, though. The rest of you will have to wait for regular visiting hours."

Don looked up, finally having better control over himself. He looked at his agent. "Do you think we should have a guard on the room?" he asked, thinking it over.

Colby didn't need to. "Yes, we do. He's a kidnap victim, only recently rescued. Megan and I will pull first shift until we can get some others from the DC force to help us."

The doctor frowned, but nodded. It had been a while since one of his patients had required a guard on the room, but these were the Feds. He wasn't about to cause trouble for them. "Well, like I said, I'll have a nurse come and get you when you can see Charles."

Don nodded a thank you, and buried his head in his hands. Colby clapped him on the shoulder and went over to the other agents. "Don's going to go and see him here shortly; I guess the surgery went alright."

"Can we see him?" McGee asked.

Colby shook his head. "Only Don until tomorrow at the earliest; immediate family and all that. Megan, I think you and I should pull first shift on guard duty for the room. It would make Charlie feel a bit safer to know we've got his back."

McGee interrupted. "I doubt the doctor would like that. Megan, forgive me, but you were just released from here a few hours ago yourself. You need rest, and you aren't going to get that here. I'll stay with Colby and you can take over in the morning."

Megan was about to release all of the anger in her and verbally lay into the man, but Colby laid a hand on her arm to stop her. He looked at the NCIS agent. "Thank you for the thought, McGee," he said softly. "However, Charlie is one of our team, and I think we need to be there for him tonight. But you can take over in the morning. Scouts honor."

McGee sighed. He had wanted to do something, but he also understood. Ziva, who had been silent through all of this, spoke up for the first time in hours. "McGee, maybe you could go and see Abby? I do not think she knows about anything that happened since yesterday."

McGee lightened slightly at the thought, but was still a bit disappointed. "That sounds like a plan. I'll see you in the morning. You want to catch a cab together, Ziva?" he asked with a small grin.

Ziva cracked a smile at that, as it was the last thing he had asked Charlie. "That would be fine." She gave Megan one last look. "Please call if something happens to him tonight?"

Megan smiled. "Of course we will. And if you hear anything from Gibbs or Tony, will you let me know?"

Ziva nodded, and she and McGee stood. "We'll see you in a few hours."

As they left, Colby and Megan looked around. Fornell had been dozing in his chair for a while now, and Don was sitting in the same position since the doctor had left. Colby went to wake Fornell, and Megan went over to Don. She simply sat next to him and nudged him with her shoulder.

"They're hopeful, but can't give me a definite on if he'll make it through the night," Don mumbled. He was so tired. Not just physically, but emotionally as well.

Megan snorted, and Don looked up at her, curious. "Don, your brother made it through four days of being…" she was about to say tortured, but his eyes darkened at the implication, so she hurried on. "He made it through that, the fear for you and your father, the rescue, and two surgeries. All of that, and you are worried about a couple hours of him resting?"

Don chuckled slightly. "You have a point there." He sat up, and struggled to bring back Agent Eppes, rather than Big Brother Don, who had been in control for the last few hours. "Who's doing guard duty?"

"Colby and me," she answered. When she saw him open his mouth to object, she cut him off. "If you even imply that I can't handle a couple hours of watching over him with Colby right next to me, I swear I'm going to hurt you," she threatened, steel in her eyes.

Don raised his hands in surrender. "Fine, you can help with first watch. I'll call the DC office tomorrow to get some more people to take over for us later on."

Megan started to say something, but a nurse came in. "Agent Eppes? I can take you to your brother now."

Megan had never seen someone move that fast in her entire life. It was as though a man had been dying of thirst and had seen a bottle of water. She shared a smile with Colby, who had sent Fornell home, and they sat back and waited.

Don sprinted over to the nurse. "Okay, I'm ready," he said quickly.

The nurse, her nametag said Jane, smiled at him. "Calm down, agent. We discourage running here."

Don just looked at her and started walking.

Jane caught up with him. "Slow down there, sonny. You don't even know where you are going." She took the lead and lead him through the halls and through a door labeled Recovery. "I'm going to take a guess here and say that he's your younger brother?"

Don looked at her, but didn't break pace. "What makes you say that?"

Jane laughed. "I'm the youngest, and I have three older brothers. I know what it looks like, trust me." She stopped them outside of a room, and put a hand on his arm to keep him from going inside just yet. When he looked at her, she spoke gently. "The bruising has had more time to develop, along with the surgeries. It's going to look bad, but just remember that he's going to be fine," she said firmly.

Don swallowed, and nodded, then pushed the door open. His breath caught as he looked at his baby brother.

Charlie was lying on the bed with both feet elevated slightly. He couldn't see how long the casts were because of the blanket that was covering him, just as he couldn't see the bandages from the surgeries on his ribs and liver. But his face was another story. There were bruises covering nearly one entire side, and he knew that Charlie wouldn't be able to see out of one of his eyes for a while. There were quite a lot of tubes running through him, and machines that were hooked up. Some of them, Don recognized. Others he'd only seen on TV, and some he didn't know at all. He would ask someone later.

With a shaking hand, he pulled a cushioned chair close to the bedside and grabbed onto one of Charlie's hands, his thumb on the pulse point in the wrist. It was his way of making sure that his brother was still alive.

"It's good to see you, Buddy," he whispered. "Remember your promise to me. You have to wake up, even if it's only for a few minutes to say hi. I need you to wake up and talk to me."

* * *

**Squee! I love being sappy sometimes, though I always love angst. I know that this is my longest chapter yet on this story, and I hope it wasn't too jumpy for you. There's just quite a bit happening in a couple places, and want to do well with both. If there is a plot or character that you feel I've neglected or forgotten about, feel free to let me know!**

******I looked it up, and Section Chief is right above SAC and right under Assistant Director, so that's the position I've used in this chapter. It is real, at least as real as the FBI's website tells me.**


	26. Chapter 26

**Here you go, my gift to you. Though it's not much of a gift, as it's kind of a filler chapter, but I'm wanting to set a few things up, and this was the best place that I could end it, unless you would like more of a cliffy :-)**

**Disclaimer: Not mine :-(**

* * *

David sighed as they walked out of the interrogation room. "Another dead end," he grumbled.

Tony was in agreement. "They all had taken their orders from Sayar, and no one is saying anything about Bray."

"How many more we got?" Ian asked, flipping through the files he had.

"Seven lived through the fight," Gibbs started. "We've talked to four, so three left."

David thought hard. "Well, the other two big ones, from what we've heard, are the ones in LA right now." He considered, then pulled out his cell. He was as paranoid as Ian had been, and wasn't wanting to go into detail on the phone. Then he looked at his watch and realized that it was well after midnight, and no one in LA would be awake right now.

"You thinking we need to talk to them, get some more evidence?" Ian asked, and David nodded. "Well, we can't talk to them tonight, nor any of the rest here, so why don't we…" He was interrupted by David's phone ringing right as he was putting it away.

"Sinclair," David answered quickly.

"David, it's Colby."

"Hey, what's going on over there?" David asked quickly, hoping that it was going to be good news.

"Charlie's out of surgery, Don went to go see him. Megan and I are pulling guard duty on the door, making rounds to be sure that all's quiet. You got any news over there?"

David hesitated. "Some, buddy. I can't say more over the phone, though. I think we're as far as we can get to tonight, though, we've hit a few dead ends. Should I come relieve Megan so she can get some rest?"

Colby chuckled, and David was glad that there was some humor in the situation. "I dare you to tell her that yourself."

"Not a chance. Alright, I'll stop by later to check on everything. Where are the NCIS agents and Fornell?"

"I sent Fornell home, he was exhausted. Ziva and McGee left a little while ago, said something about talking to Abby. They'll take over guard in the morning." He paused, then continued hesitantly. "Look, I know you can't talk over the phone right now, but I think you guys need to get some rest yourselves. It'll be easier in the morning."

David suppressed another yawn, and nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Call me, though, if something happens tonight."

"Will do, partner. Take care, and remember that Charlie's hotel room is still paid for and available for everyone to use to get some rest."

"Got it," David said and hung up. He looked at the others. "Alright, Charlie is out of surgery, we'll see how he's doing later. Colby and Megan are doing guard duty for Charlie tonight, Ziva and McGee will take over later. Fornell went home as well, so I guess Saks is doing fine as well."

Gibbs nodded. "We're not going to get anything more tonight. Go get rest," he ordered. Tony and David turned to leave together.

"Where you want a ride to?" Tony asked.

"The hospital," David answered promptly. "I'm going to check on my team. If I want to go anywhere else, I'll catch a cab."

Tony just nodded, and the two left together. Ian looked at Gibbs. "That was a bit too easy," he commented.

Gibbs shrugged. "They're both exhausted, and Sinclair is still worried about Charlie and his team."

Ian nodded, and looked at the other agent. "They have a point, thought. You should get some rest. You were in the hospital only a few hours ago." When Gibbs glared at him, he grinned. "I know that look all too well. Come on, Gibbs, let's go get a drink."

* * *

Tony dropped David off at the hospital, and was already on the phone with Ziva as he pulled out. He wanted to see what they were doing for the rest of the night. David, meanwhile, had walked in and flashed his badge at the lady at the front desk.

"I'm looking for the room for Charles Eppes? I understand there are a few people guarding his room right now and I need to speak with them."

The nurse didn't look happy, but she nodded and checked the files in front of her. She gave him the room number and scowled at him as he left. She hated dealing with Feds; they were so impatient.

David walked through the halls until he went through Recovery and saw his team waiting outside a room. Colby nodded to him, taking his hand off his gun. When the door had flown open like that, he'd gotten a bit nervous.

"Hey, man. How they doing?" David asked, jerking his head towards the door.

"I think Don feel asleep in there," Megan said, keeping her voice down. "I talked the nurses into leaving him there for the night. He could use the rest."

David just nodded, and wondered if he should risk telling them what he and the other agents had learned. He decided that it wasn't worth the risk, as they could easily be overheard. Megan caught his look of indecision.

"What's been going on?" she asked him.

David frowned. "Not here, alright? This is big, and we can't risk blowing anything."

Colby whistled. "That bad, huh?" At David's look, his brows rose. "You'll have to fill us in later. Anything we can do right now?"

"I don't think so," he said. "What we really need is to get those other two guys from LA down here and talk to them. I just don't know how Wright is going to feel about that."

Megan thought for a moment. "While they did commit a crime in LA, they committed one first here in DC, so we could make a claim that they need to be brought back here. We could have AD Brown make a request…" She trailed off when she saw David's eyes darken at that. "Okay, maybe not." She thought hard. "Maybe the director of NCIS could make the request? Of course, that would mean that they would be sent to NCIS instead of the FBI here. After all, one of them could be the one that shot at Officer David, so that would be handled through NCIS to begin with."

David grinned. That was a good plan, and would save them from having to transfer them later. "Brilliant, Megan," he whispered, and grabbed his phone, then thought better of it. "I'm going to go get a hold of Gibbs and suggest that. Let me know if anything changes?"

Megan and Colby exchanged looks. This was clearly getting really hot. "Alright, we'll call you. Either way, Ziva and McGee already volunteered for guard duty tomorrow, so we'll help you out with anything in the morning."

David nodded and left quickly, wanting to get to Gibbs' place before he fell asleep. He didn't feel like having a gun pointed at him when he knocked.

* * *

The nurses had taken pity on Don, and left him in Charlie's room through the night, since he had fallen asleep at his brother's bedside. He woke up to the incessant beeping from the machines. He straightened, feeling the relief of his back cracking and twisted to release all the tension. Once he was feeling a bit better, he looked at Charlie. He looked no better than he had the night before, and Don was getting worried.

A nurse came in to check on them, and she smiled. "Morning, Sleeping Beauty," she greeted.

"Morning," Don said, distracted. He was keeping his eyes on his brother. "He hasn't woken up yet," he fretted.

The nurse gave him a sad look. "He clearly went through a lot, and his body needs to sleep it off. He might wake up pretty soon. We'll just have to wait and see." She checked all the machines and made some notes. "Just remember, he made it through the night. That's big in and of itself. The doctor should be in later to check on him; he'll be able to tell you more."

Don just nodded, and adjusted his loose grip on Charlie's wrist, keeping his fingers on the pulse point. It was a small thing, but it comforted him. He checked his watch, and was shocked to see that it was nearly 8 in the morning, and he heard quiet talking outside of the room. He stood, stretching a bit more, and made his way to the door.

Megan and Colby had greeted Ziva and McGee, who were there with fresh coffee, and looking much better for a night away from everything. "Hey guys," he greeted.

Ziva handed him a coffee. "I was not sure how you like your coffee, so I just brought you black."

Don saw that it was not hospital coffee, but from Starbucks, and he nodded gratefully at the Officer. "That's great, thank you so much." He looked at his agents who were about to leave. "You guys here anything else about the case?" he asked.

Megan bit her lip. She really didn't, but they were about to go and find out. Colby nodded. "There could be some leads, but they're pretty worried about being overheard, so we don't really know anything yet. You want to come with us?" he asked, though he already knew the answer.

Don sighed. He really wanted to know more about where the case was headed, but knew that he couldn't leave just yet. "I can't," he said, and everyone nodded, having known that was the case. "After he wakes up, I'll give you guys a call, maybe he can give a quick statement. Then I'll go and help you guys out with the rest of the case." He thought for a moment. "Actually, I'm sure there's some desk work that needs to be done," he mentioned, not looking forward to the next few hours of doing nothing but waiting and worrying. "If you guys can bring me a laptop, I can get some stuff done for you, if that would help."

Colby nodded, thinking hard. "When I check in with Gibbs and Ian, I'll see what we can do about that," he promised.

Don nodded, glad that he could contribute something. He knew that as team leader, he should still be doing something. However in all honesty, he was lucky to be on the case at all. "You do that."

* * *

**A/N: No action yet, but I think there could be a bit more in the next chapter, depends on how long I decide to make it. As always, I hope you liked. Feel free to let me know!**


	27. Chapter 27

**Okay, so this one is a bit jumpier than the past few, sorry about that. I just had a few things going on. Yeah, it'll probably still happen in the next few chapters, so I hope that no one hates me for it. **

**Anywho, lots of stuff for this chappie, so I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: *pouts* nope, not yet.**

* * *

Leaving McGee and Ziva with their orders – one stays at the door no matter what, and the other alternates between walking the halls looking for anything unexplained and being at the door as well – Megan and Colby went to Charlie's hotel room to pick up David, and to get some more coffee. They were both feeling more than a bit tired. Staying up all night after a firefight does that to you, which they both knew from experience.

David was waiting for them at the curb, and he hopped in. "I had all the cars checked last night for bugs. Ian's had one, and so did Tony's car. They've both been taken out, and this one was clean. So we're free to talk."

Megan grinned. "How do you get so much done and still sleep?" she asked curiously.

"I didn't get that much sleep, to be honest. I talked with Gibbs about having NCIS request for the suspects in LA to be transferred here. He's going to call their director later tonight. I told Gibbs to inform them that they will have the cooperation our team to have them go to NCIS instead of the DC FBI." He paused for a moment, then continued hesitantly. "Has there been any news about Charlie?"

"Charlie, no," Colby said with a sigh, not taking his eyes off the road. "Don fell asleep in the room; the nurses let him stay in there. They hope he'll wake up for a little while later on today. Saks was released this morning; Fornell came and picked him up."

David nodded. He had suspected as much. "At least he made it through the night," he whispered to himself. The others gave no indication whether or not they had heard him. "How's Don holding up?" he asked.

Megan sighed. "He's hanging tough," she admitted. "I know he's going to crash sooner or later, but let's just hope that it lasts until we're back in LA. He wanted to know if he could get a laptop and do some of the desk work for us."

David thought about that. "That sounds fine to me, what do you think?"

"It's probably the best thing we could do for him," Colby said. "It will give him something to do, but this way he can stay with Charlie until he wakes up." He paused, then remembered that this car was clean of bugs. "So, you want to fill us in on what happened yesterday?" he asked mildly.

David sighed. "You guys remember hearing about Hadar Bray?"

"Just promoted to Section Chief, right?" Megan asked. "So that would make him Fornell's boss?"

David nodded grimly. "According to Ian, there was a 45 second call from him to Asaf Sayar only a few minutes after Don called Fornell for backup on our way to the first cabin."

The silence was thick, and the tension could have been cut with a knife. "Holy shit," Colby breathed. "We have a dirty agent on our hands?"

"That's what we're thinking. Which is why I wanted the two suspects from LA to be sent to NCIS instead of the FBI. Bray is friends with AD Brown, and I would like to keep these suspects alive long enough to get them on record," David said harshly.

"I can't see Brown being dirty," Megan said thoughtfully. "But you're right, we need proof before we can do anything."

The other two nodded, and they continued their drive to NCIS where they were meeting up with the other agents.

* * *

Gibbs and Tony were already on their computers when the three walked in, and Ian was looking shockingly out of place. Edgerton was more of an action person; he didn't really do as well when he wasn't on a hunt. David stifled a snicker at the image, and walked forward.

"You talk to your director yet?" he asked Gibbs.

Gibbs looked up from his computer. "Yeah, she's putting in the call right now." He was about to look back down, but his phone rang. Gibbs sighed and picked it up. "Yeah, Gibbs." He nodded. "Be right up." He hung up the phone and looked at David. "Speak of the devil. Come on," he invited the other agent, leaving the rest staring after them.

"I thought he hated FBI?" Megan asked Tony.

DiNozzo shrugged. "Usually he does, but he seems to like you LA guys." He hadn't even looked up from his own work.

Megan turned to Ian and Colby, telling them with her eyes to walk away, and they did. She pulled up McGee's chair to Tony's desk, and just looked at him.

Tony couldn't take the staring contest. "What?" he demanded.

"That's a good question," she countered. "Want to tell me what's going on in that head of yours?" When he didn't answer, she smirked. "What, do I have to get you some tequila shots to get you to talk? It worked when we met, if I remember correctly."

Tony blushed slightly at the memory. Nothing happened between them, but his cop buddies had said that she was able to get him to spill everything after a few drinks. "Look, I'm fine. Alright? Can we get some work done now?" he lied, and turned back to his computer.

Foreseeing that answer, she didn't even twitch, just continued looking at him. After another few minutes, he turned to glare at her. "I can sit like this for a while, but as I remember, you don't really like it," she said simply

Tony grumbled under his breath. He pushed his keyboard away and thought about how to word it. "I don't know, Megan. I never know anyone from cases that we investigate, but Gibbs and I are the only ones that don't know Charlie. Not to mention everything that is coming down in our own backyard. It's just getting a bit too close to home for me."

Megan nodded as she listened to him. She wished she knew something that she could say to him, but there really wasn't anything. She put her hand on his arm, eyes filled with understanding.

* * *

Gibbs and David walked into the office after being directed in by the assistant. Jenny stood from her place behind her desk. "Director Shepard," she introduced herself, extending her hand.

David shook it. "Special Agent David Sinclair," he responded, then sat at the chair she waved at him. "Gibbs told me that you would like for the two suspects who nearly kidnapped Agent Eppes' father to be brought to DC, but here instead of the FBI."

"That is correct, ma'am," he said. "It also does make sense. One of them is likely the one that attempted to shoot Officer David. Their first crime was against NCIS, not the FBI."

Jen smiled as she leaned back into her chair. "I'm going to guess that this has less to do with that technicality, and more to do with something about the FBI."

David shifted a bit in the chair. "Madam Director," he started, then backtracked when he saw her irritated look. "Ma'am," he corrected himself. "This case his rather hot, and I would rather not give details right now. Suffice it to say, I believe it would be best for everyone involved if the men were sent here."

Jenny sighed. She had expected that, but wasn't happy about it. "AD Wright was not pleased by the request, but has allowed it. When he heard that there was no fight from his agents, he was understandably curious. You'd better be in the mood to discuss it with him later," she advised, and double checked her notes. "He said that the suspects will be landing with a contingent of four agents at Ronald Regan tonight at 8pm. The agents guarding them will escort them here, then fly straight back to LA unless you need them."

David smiled in relief. He was glad that they would be able to get some more answers in less than twelve hours. "Thank you, ma'am," he said fervently.

* * *

Don was losing his mind. Charlie had been out of surgery for God only knows how many hours, and hadn't woken up yet! He had counted the number of tiles on the ceiling and the floor, had studied the machines that were helping his brother, and practiced his profiling on the nurses who would come in once in a while. The doctor had already came and left, saying that there was nothing to worry about just yet. How could he say that? As if Don wasn't going to worry.

He laid his head down on the bed. It was hard to believe that the firefight was only the day before. It felt as though it were the day before. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt Charlie's hand squeeze his.

"Charlie?" he demanded, standing up and running a hand through Charlie's hair. "Come on, Chuck, open those eyes for me," he begged.

"Don?" Charlie whispered, forcing his eyes open.

"Thank you, God," Don chocked out, kissing his brother's head. "It's good to see you."

Charlie turned his head slightly. "Water?"

Don reached over with one hand, the other firmly grasping his brother's. He poured water from a pink pitcher into a paper cup and held it to Charlie's lips.

Charlie took a few small sips, then sat back. He looked up at his brother. "Sit," he ordered. "Hurts my neck."

Don sat quickly. "How you feeling, buddy?"

Charlie smiled in his drug induced haze. "Love it when you call me that."

Don felt his eyes sting. He realized how much he would miss his brother if he ever lost him. Pushing those thoughts away, he repeated himself. "How do you feel?"

Charlie gave his brother a look. "Do you want the little brother answer or the honest one?"

Don chuckled, squeezing his brother's hand even harder. "Either," he said honestly, just wanting to hear his brother's voice.

Charlie coughed gently, then moaned in pain. Don slapped the nurse call button. A few seconds later, a female who looked barely old enough to be out of college hurried in. "Can I help you?" she asked, then noticed that the patient was awake and in pain. She nodded with a smiled. "I'll go grab the doctor for you," she promised.

Don waited impatiently. "It's alright, doctor will be here in a second," he whispered to his brother.

Charlie nodded, trying to breath deep, which just triggered another cough. The doctor came in, though it was one that Don hadn't met yet.

"How's the patient?" he asked with a smile. He checked Charlie over, ignoring Don who was glaring at him. A minute later, he nodded. "I'll go ahead and up your pain meds. You will find moving to be difficult and painful, so I don't recommend it at all," he said sternly. "If you need anything, just let one of the nurses know."

"Thanks," Charlie said, still in a whisper.

The doctor smiled at him again and left. Don sat back down in his chair. He could tell that Charlie was fading, thanks to the heavy narcotics he was given.

But he fought the drugs and tried to keep his eyes open. "Don? Dad okay?" he asked fearfully.

Don realized that Charlie might now remember the conversation they had before surgery. "He's doing fine, Chuck. Your warning came in just in time to get a team on him. He's at a safe house, probably cooking enough food for the entire FBI office."

Charlie nodded with a smiled on his face, letting his eyes slide shut. "Don't call me Chuck," he mumbled, then was out again.

Don felt a tear fall down his cheek, but he was fine with that. He was just thrilled that his brother was alive and had woken up. He gave himself a few minutes to get himself under control. Then he stood. He was going to let Ziva and Tim know, then call his agents to tell them and ask when he was going to get that laptop.

* * *

"Not a problem, Don. Call you soon," Colby said, flipping his phone closed. He looked over to see the five other agents staring at him. "Charlie woke up," he told them, and nearly everyone sighed in relief. "It was only for a few minutes, and he's still in a lot of pain, but he's doing well. Don was wondering when we can get him that laptop and something that he can work on."

Ian spoke up from where he was leaning against Ziva's desk. "We should go and get a computer from the FBI," he said, and got a few incredulous looks. "Alright, if we don't go over there and let them see us working once in a while, they're going to get suspicious. And suspicious people can get dangerous."

Gibbs nodded. He was happy to see that not all FBI agents were total idiots. "Alright. Tony and I will go and check on Fornell and Saks, since I heard he was released this morning. Edgerton, you and Granger go to your office, make it seem as though you're onto something. Reeves and Sinclair, you go to the tech department and get that laptop. We'll find someone who can take it over to the hospital."

They all nodded, and chose to take three cars to the FBI. With so many of them, there was a chance that they would need more than one mode of transportation. As soon as they pulled in, they went to their various destinations.

Megan and David were walking quickly towards the tech department to ask for a laptop. They were each wondering what they could have Don doing, but knew that they couldn't talk about that there. They got into the office to find someone waiting in front of them, arguing with the computer geeks. Megan was still lost in her thoughts, but David frowned. He knew that voice.

"Fine, if you can't help me out, then I'll have to find someone who can," the agent snapped, and turned to leave, but then stopped dead.

"David?"

"Terry? Terry Lake?" David demanded.

* * *

**A/N: Hehehehe! I'm so horrible! First I neglect Ziva and McGee, then I bring back yet another character. Tehehe. I just couldn't help it, you know how it goes! **

**For those who don't know Terry, she was the female agent in Numb3rs for season 1 only. The first episode of season 2, Don said that she had gone back to DC to try and work things out with her ex husband. So she was already there, and I just couldn't resist. **


	28. Chapter 28

**My, yet another update. I hope the last several chapters have made up for my longish absence. **

**Disclaimer: No one in their right mind would give me the shows...**

* * *

David was shocked. He knew that Terry had transferred to the DC office, but had not made the connection that he might run into her while they were here.

Megan looked at the woman who was staring at them. She smiled at her, having seen pictures of her when she'd first transferred to Don's team. "Hey, Terry, I'm Megan."

Terry looked at her, confused, then made the connection. "You were the one that joined the team after me."

Megan nodded. "Sounds like you were having some problems there," she noted, jerking her head to the annoyed technician as the three walked out of the office. They would go back into the room in a while.

Terry sighed. "Just having some computer problems, not wanting to wait as long as they're telling me." She looked confused, then turned to David. "What are you guys doing here?"

David hesitated, but remembered that Terry knew about Charlie, and would want to know what had happened. "Charlie was kidnapped a few days ago while he was here visiting friends."

Terry's eyes grew wide and she covered her mouth with her hands. "Oh, my gosh. Did you guys find him?" she demanded.

David nodded. "Yeah, we got him back yesterday. Don's with him at the hospital right now."

"Is he alright? Oh, what a stupid question, of course he isn't," she snapped at herself. "Is there anything I can do?"

David and Megan exchanged a look. They really couldn't let anyone else in on the case, especially a DC FBI agent. David felt bad, since he knew her fairly well, and didn't want to just brush her off. He thought as quickly as he could.

"We were going to send a laptop over to the hospital. Don's chomping at the bit, but he doesn't want to leave Charlie just yet, so we were going to let him get some desk work done. There anyone here who can take it to him?"

Terry sighed. She wished she could do it herself, but there wasn't any way she could, as her own case was a bit backed up, and she didn't have the time to take out to go across town to the hospital. "Yeah, I know a few guys. Give me a second?" she asked, going for her phone.

David nodded, and she and Megan went back into the office to ask for a laptop. The tech wasn't happy about it, but he told them to wait for a few minutes while he found one.

"How long did you two work for?" Megan asked, looking through the glass door at Terry, who was pacing while talking with someone.

"About a year," David answered. "She really helped me out while I got my footing. Don wasn't very trustful, since my first case with him was really big and he was getting pressured a lot. Ironically, my first case with Don was also Charlie's first, as well."

Megan's brows rose. She hadn't known that. She was going to say something, but then her own phone rang, and she fumbled at her belt for it. "Reeves," she said. She listened for a moment, then stood from her seat. "Got it. We'll be right there."

"What was that about?" David asked when she flipped it closed.

"That was Colby. He and Ian had gone to talk to the last few suspects, and one has some information for us."

David whistled. "That's great. Let's wait for that laptop and give it to Terry, then we'll head down."

Megan nodded, and Terry came back in at the same time the tech returned with a slightly beat up black laptop. "Here you go, it's the best we have right now," he told them coldly, interpreting their looks.

"Thank you," Megan said with a smile as she took it. She looked over at Terry.

"I found one of my agents who needs to make a coffee run for us, and I convinced him that it would be in his best interests to make a run to the hospital," she said with a grin.

"One of your agents?" David asked, smiling. "You running this place now?"

Terry blushed. "No, but they did give me a team last year. Anyway, he'll be down here in a few."

David sighed. "We just got a call and have to take off to the other side of the building," he said and handed it to her. "

Terry nodded as she grabbed the laptop, holding it carefully. Though she hadn't been on Don's team in years, it didn't mean that he wouldn't ream her a new one for messing with anything pertaining to his case. She looked at David thoughtfully. She knew that they were being tightlipped about everything right now, which meant that their case was pretty big. She knew that everyone would take it personally when Charlie got kidnapped. Hell, she was pissed about it, and she hadn't seen him in years. But something else was going on, and she wished that she could help more.

"Look, David," she started quietly. "I know that there's something going on. If you guys need another hand to help you out, just let me know, I'd be happy to do what I can."

David smiled at her, and she felt a bit of relief. "I will do that. Thanks a lot, Terry. Do me a favor, and have your agent tell Don that we'll get him some information as soon as we can." He turned away when Terry simply nodded, and Megan followed him to where the interrogations were held.

Megan was thinking hard. She knew that David was a good judge of people, and had worked with Terry before. There was something that was bothering her, but she couldn't put her finger on it right now. Maybe later when it had a chance to fester, she would realize what it was.

They met Ian outside one of the rooms. "Hey, what's going on?"

"Colby's in there right now. I'd forgotten how good he is when talking with suspects," Ian said with a twisted grin.

David's eyes narrowed. "He's not…" He knew how hotheaded his partner could get when the situation hit close to home.

But Ian shook his head. "No, nothing illegal. He wants this case to be airtight when it goes to trial. None of us want these bastards to get off on a technicality."

David nodded, relieved. "Well, should we watch?" he asked, gesturing to the observation room. Ian nodded, and the three walked inside. They saw the suspect sitting face towards the one way mirror, and Colby's back as he loomed over the man. The suspect had darker skin, but it was still fairly light compared to the other suspects. Maybe one of his parents was white? He also seemed pretty young, early twenties at most.

"Alright, Makin, start from the beginning," Colby demanded.

Makin twisted his hands nervously. He knew that what he was about to say was going to go over pretty badly, but the fed had said that he could get Makin's prison sentence reduced if he cooperated. "Noam is my cousin, and he…"

"Noam Mazar?" Colby asked. "One of the ones who went to LA?"

Makin nodded. "Yeah, he wanted to go to school to be a doctor, but his father didn't like that idea and refused to help him out with the tuition. So one of his friends, Asaf, said that he had some work for him to help people. It wasn't what we had been thinking. It was fixing up people that they tortured so that they could keep doing it. After a while, though, I could tell that Noam was starting to change, and not in a good way."

Colby had sat back down and was listening intently. "What happened?"

Makin shook his head. "I'm not sure. Just too much time with the wrong people I guess. He started calling me when he knew that I needed some cash, and it was little things at first, like keeping an eye out for cops and feds. But after a while, I had to start doing other things; they gave me a gun to use and Noam taught me how to use it."

"How did you get paid?" Colby asked, barely daring to breath.

Makin rubbed his neck, thinking hard. "Noam usually gave him cash to give to me; I guess they didn't want me knowing too much about where it was coming from. One time, though, I was handed a wad of cash by someone named… Hadar, I think it was?"

Colby stood, his heart pounding. "I'll be right back," he said, and quickly left the room.

Megan was biting her lip when Colby entered the room. They were all glad that Ian had chased away the tech who was usually in the room with them. Ian could be a bit scary when he wanted to be.

"Well, shit," David said when the door was closed.

"Yeah. We have to find a way to move him to NCIS," Colby said quietly, getting paranoid. "Makin just implicated a higher up in illegal activities. We don't want anyone to get wind of this before he's moved."

Ian had been silent for a while, thinking. "The problem we have is that he only met Hadar once, and Bray's lawyer will have a field day with that. What we need to know is what happened to get Makin called in on Charlie's kidnapping."

"On it," Colby said, leaving the room again. He walked into the interrogation room and sat back into his chair. "Alright, you mentioned how you were able to get money for these activities. How did you end up at that cabin we arrested you at?"

Makin sighed and closed his eyes. "Noam called. They had someone up there and they needed reinforcements to keep the cops busy until they were able to get him to give them information. I could tell that Noam didn't want to bring me in, but I'm one of the few he actually trusts, and new that I needed the money. He said that Hadar wasn't going to be happy having to pay a lot more people, but the information they could sell overseas would more than pay for everyone to have a good cut."

Colby was fighting fury, and had clenched his fists under the table where they couldn't be seen. "Would you be able to describe Hadar to someone, get a face?"

Makin thought about it for a minute. "Yeah, I could."

David let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He was proud of his partner for keeping his cool so well, he wasn't sure he could have been doing any better. He turned to the agents next to him. "How are we going to get him out of here?" he asked.

* * *

Don was dozing at Charlie's bedside. The mathematician had tried to get Don to leave, saying that he was fine, but Don just glared at him. In truth, he needed this. He needed to feel like the older brother and spend a bit of time fussing, which he had learned from the master: their father.

Though, Don was getting frustrated at the lack of information about the case. He knew that Ziva and McGee, who were still stationed at the door, probably felt the same as he did. Charlie had been transferred out of Recovery and into the ICU earlier that day. It was just as well, as ICU was no more difficult to secure, though they did get a lot more glares from the hospital personnel.

Charlie had only been awake a few more times, and rarely coherent enough to mumble at Don, then fall back asleep thanks to the heavy medications he was on. Don knew that they needed to get his statement soon, but he was not going to let anyone push him when he was in so much pain. That would have to wait for a little bit to give him a chance to heal a bit more.

There was a knock at the door, and Don instinctively put a hand on his gun. Ziva poked her head in. "Eppes, there is an agent here for you, he has a laptop to give to you," she whispered.

Don stood and went to the door, opening it a bit wider, and was surprised to see an agent he had never met before holding a laptop case in one hand and a coffee in the other. "I appreciate the laptop, Agent…"

"Pickering," the man said. It was clear that he was a rookie, looking a bit nervous. "I was told to give this to you, bring you a fresh coffee, and tell you that your team will come by later to give you something to work on for them," he recited quickly, handing over both the case and the cup.

Don took both, rather shocked. "Which of my team told you that?" he asked suspiciously.

"Well, I didn't talk to your team directly," he said nervously. "Agent Lake spoke with Agent Sinclair."

Don's eyes widened. "Agent Terry Lake?" he asked. He had not even thought about her in a while, which was surprising since they had attempted dating once a long time ago. "And she said that she'd spoken with David Sinclair?"

"Yes, sir," Agent Pickering confirmed. "Would you like to call her for confirmation?"

Don shook his head. "That's alright, though I might call her a bit later. Thank you for dropping these by."

Pickering shrugged. "It's nothing. Terry was clear that this was a priority, especially since our own case seems to be wrapping up. She also told me to tell you that if you need something, to just let her know."

Don smiled. That sounded like the Terry he knew, and it seemed that she had her own team now. He wasn't surprised, as she had been a great agent in LA. "Well, thank you, Agent Pickering. Tell Terry that I might take her up on that."

The agent simply nodded, and fled quickly, clearly a bit overwhelmed by the three agents that were stationed at one person's hospital room. Don set down the laptop and coffee and went to speak with the NCIS agents.

"Hey, Don, how's he doing?" McGee asked when the door opened again.

"I think he's going to be alright, he's sleeping quite a lot," Don told them. "Have you guys heard anything about the case? Or when you are going to be relieved?" he asked, curious as to why they hadn't heard anything.

Ziva shook her head. "Gibbs has not called yet, nor have we heard anything since arriving here." She looked at him. "Would you like me to call him, see if there is any news?"

Don bit his lip. He didn't want to seem pushy, but there were so many loose ends, not to mention the lack of communication. "Yeah, that would be great," he told her. "I'll stay out here for you while you call."

Ziva nodded and pulled out her cell, heading outside. She knew how upset hospital personnel got when they saw anyone talking on a phone. She walked out of the building and around the corner for a bit of privacy before hitting the speed dial for her boss.

"Yeah, Gibbs," came the harried voice of her team leader.

"Gibbs, it is Ziva. Agent Eppes was wondering if there was any news about the case, or any idea of when McGee and I will be relieved," she told him.

She heard Gibbs cover the mouthpiece of the cell and talk with someone else for a moment. "Yeah, there's news, but not anything that we want to mention over unsecured lines. He'll have one of his agents come over around 4 to fill the three of you in on the case. Has the professor woken up again?"

Ziva shrugged. "I am not sure. They moved him from Recovery to the ICU earlier this morning. Agent Eppes did not seem as worried, so Charlie might have woken up again."

"Alright, let him know that we'll send someone your way in a couple hours with information. Until then, keep your eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary."

"Understood, boss," Ziva said, and hung up. She sighed and took out her prescription bottle and popped another antibiotic. She wasn't going to admit it to anyone, but her shoulder was still bothering her a bit, and hoped that it would go away soon. She turned and made her way back inside and to the elevators and to her post.

* * *

**I hope this wasn't too boring for you all. To be honest, while I know how I'm going to end it, it keeps getting longer, so I have no idea how long I'm going to make this. I'm just enjoying the ride, and I hope you all are as well!**


	29. Chapter 29

**Okay, so this is a LONG chapter, simply because I knew where I wanted to end it, and wasn't going to stop before I got there.**

**Disclaimer: *snorts* Please!**

* * *

Don was playing solitaire on the laptop, since there really wasn't anything else he could do until the team came to talk to him. He had just lost his fourth game since his concentration was off when he heard movement on the bed.

"Don?" Charlie mumbled.

Don closed the laptop and moved closer to the bed. "You really awake this time?"

Charlie started to reach his right arm up to rub his eyes, then winced, and used his left arm instead. "What do you mean?"

"You've been in and out of it a lot today," Don told him softly.

Charlie looked at his brother and smiled. "You didn't have to stay with me, you know."

Don smirked. "That's the third time you've told me that. The first few were a bit more mumbled, though," he joked.

Charlie made a face and tried to sit up, but fell back with a groan. Don was there in an instant. "Lay back, Chuck. You got pretty hurt."

The professor scoffed. "I know, trust me," he said with darkened eyes. "What happened? I don't remember much after you and Colby untied me."

"That's not surprising, you had a good sized lump on your head. We got you out of the cabin while some of NCIS and half of the DC FBI force took on the rest of the guards those bastards had on you."

Charlie flinched at the reminder. "What happened to Asaf?"

"Asaf Sayar? He was killed at the cabin. He tried to take on Ian, and you know how he doesn't appreciate people pointing a gun in his general direction," Don said with a forced smile, trying to lighten the mood.

Charlie wasn't paying attention to that, though. "What about Dad?"

Don sighed. He wished that he could talk to their father, at least to let him know that Charlie was alright, but he couldn't. He gave the message to Wright to give to him, but he'd have to wait a while before talking to him. "He's fine. You got the message to us just in time for the AD to send a team to the house and caught the two who tried to grab him. Wright has dad in a safe house for now until we're sure he's safe." He remembered telling him this a few times already, but the doctors had warned him to expect some short term memory problems until they weaned the meds down a notch.

Charlie nodded, though his mind was clearly elsewhere. Don noticed.

"What is it, Charlie?" he asked quietly. He didn't want to baby his brother, but he'd spent his whole life, especially the last four years doing everything to protect him, and it was hard to break habits.

Charlie picked at invisible lint on the bed. "It's nothing," he mumbled.

Don just raised a brow and waited. Charlie looked up and met his gaze, then dropped it again. "Don't pull that with me, Chuck. You never could lie to me."

Charlie attempted a glare, but it fell flat, and Don saw the emotional turmoil in his brother's eyes. He continued to wait, until finally Charlie opened his mouth. "Is it bad that I'm happy?"

Don didn't need to ask what he meant. "You're relieved that Sayar is dead?" he said just to clarify. When Charlie merely nodded he reached out and squeezed his brother's hand. "Charlie, that man beat you, or allowed others to do so, he clearly mentally tortured you. He kept you hidden away from everyone else, and asked God knows what from you that your morals do not allow you to do. It is understandable for you to feel nothing but gratitude."

Charlie discreetly wiped his eyes dry. "When can we do the debriefing?" he asked gruffly.

Don was a bit surprised by the change in topic, but took it in stride. "That's up to you. Whenever you think you're ready, that's fine. I think everyone would understand if you wanted to wait a few days."

Charlie shook his head rapidly, then moaned and rubbed it. "I'd rather get it over with quickly," he said honestly. He just wanted to put everything behind him.

His older brother just nodded. He was a bit surprised, but not as much as he would have been a year ago. "That's fine. Ziva said that some of the team would be by around 4 to fill me in and that's when the changing of the guards happens."

"The guards?" Charlie asked, ignoring the pain and sitting up.

Don tried to get him to lie back down, but knew it was useless. "Yeah, we have a 24 hour guard on the room. Megan and Colby took last night, and Ziva and McGee are out there right now. I'm not sure who's taking over later."

Charlie shook his head again. "No, Don. No guards."

Don stared at him. "What the hell do you mean, no guards?" he demanded.

"No one is going to get hurt because of me, I won't let them," Charlie said adamantly. "These people are serious, and I don't want anyone else to get injured by them to get to me."

Don sighed. "Look, Charlie, we can handle anyone who tries to come through that door, I promise you. Everyone is here because we want to be. From what I've gathered, everyone is doing shifts: guarding you, sleeping, and working the case."

The machines started going crazy as Charlie's breathing got erratic, as did his heartbeat. "No, Don. Someone is going to get hurt. You don't understand!" Then he remembered part of what they had wanted from him just as the door burst open and nurses came rushing in. He ignored them as he saw Ziva and Tim looking in with concern. "Ziva, they want your father's security detail. Get him to change it!"

Don was trying really hard now to push Charlie back down as the nurses worked to sedate him. He had never seen his brother this scared before, and it terrified him. "Charlie, calm down. I'll tell Ziva to talk with her father, but you need to relax, alright?"

Charlie kept fighting him, though, until the nurse injected something into his IV, and he sagged back down almost immediately. The nurses checked all the machines one last time and glared at Don for getting the patient agitated, then left. Charlie looked back up at his brother with tears in his eyes. "No guards, Donnie," he said before his eyes slid closed and he fell back asleep.

Don sat hard in his chair, holding his head in his hands. He hadn't meant to get his brother so upset; if anything, he'd wanted to reassure his brother that he was safe here. Whatever they threatened him with must have been pretty bad.

Ziva knocked on the door and poked her head in. "Don, may I speak with you for a moment?" she whispered.

Don waved her inside the room. "He's out, he won't wake up for a while," he told her, voice at normal volume.

She walked in and closed the door. "What was that he was yelling?" she asked, her face a bit whiter than usual. "I could not hear him well over the machines."

Don sighed. "He said to tell your father to change his security detail. Apparently that was one thing that the kidnappers were wanting Charlie to look up for them."

Ziva never would consider herself close to her father, but she knew that she needed to tell him. She tried to smile, but it came out more as a grimace. "Thank you, Don. I will call him," she said and left, presumably to find a landline, which were more secure than many cell phones.

Don looked back down at his brother, whose face still wasn't peaceful. He rubbed his face slightly. "What am I going to do with you?" he whispered to his brother's limp form.

* * *

Gibbs stared at the agents in front of him. "How did you get that suspect transferred to my office?" he demanded.

Ian grinned dangerously. "Don't ask. Safer that way," Ian said shortly.

Gibbs sighed. This agent was scarily similar to him. "Alright, what else do we have?"

They were in Ian's office again, and it was filled to capacity. Ian, David, Megan, Colby, Gibbs, Tony, and Fornell were all packed in. Saks had wanted to join them, but Fornell had asked him to stay with Makin.

"Okay, first thing is to look at schedules," Fornell said. "Gibbs, DiNozzo, you should escort Makin back to NCIS and get him processed. Reeves and Granger, you need to get some rest, as neither of you have slept." The two immediately started to argue, but he spoke over them. "Get a couple hours at that hotel room you go back to and rest for a couple hours. We have time before we have to go to the airport," he reminded them. "We'll send Ziva and McGee to get some rest as well. Ian, you and I have a few things that we need to talk about, since this is still my turf, I need to know what you guys have found."

David cut in. "Then I'll head to the hospital and brief Don, Ziva, and McGee."

Megan looked less than pleased with the plan. "What happened to staying in pairs?" she demanded. "We know that it isn't safe for us to be alone."

"Actually, it might be better," Gibbs said. "Throws anyone off our track if we seem a bit less worried than before. Plus, he's going to meet up with the other agents, he'll be fine."

Megan wasn't ready to give up without a fight. "If Ziva and Tim are going to be relieved, then we need another person to guard. I'm not going to ask Don to leave Charlie, and there's no way David is going to handle guard on his own."

Colby agreed. "She's right. David's good, but we need someone to stay at the door, and another person to make the rounds."

Gibbs nodded reluctantly, and Fornell shrugged. "What about the agent that you guys used to take the laptop to Don earlier?"

Ian thought about it. "That seems fair. We'd have to check with Lake, see if it was alright." He remembered Terry from the sniper case a few years before, and he doubted she would have a problem lending an agent to help for a few hours. "We'll use him until 7, then what about Colby and Fornell taking over guard so the rest of us can get to the airport?"

Colby didn't look happy about not being a part of the action at Regan, but he nodded. "Sounds fair."

"Right, then get a hold of Lake, get that agent again," Gibbs said, leaning heavily on his cane. He'd been walking a lot that day, and his stitches were starting to pull a bit, but everyone knew better than to comment on it.

David was the one that went up to see Terry, and she readily agreed to let Agent Pickering help them out for a few hours. It was only 3, so he would only be used for 4 hours. David was confused when Pickering seemed excited to help them out.

"He's new," Terry said with an eye roll when David asked her about it. "He's only been on my team for a few months, and he's always excited to do anything that doesn't involve paperwork."

David chuckled and walked with Pickering out to his car. He saw Megan and Colby headed to another car, and was pleased that they were going to get some rest. It had been a long day, night, and day again for the two of them, and they needed some rest, since coffee only worked for so long. They'd have to thank Charlie for the use of his hotel room, as nearly everyone had either used it to shower or sleep during the case.

They got to the hospital rather quickly, since it wasn't rush hour just yet, and made their way up to Charlie's room, seeing Ziva standing guard, and McGee was walking the halls, keeping his eyes and ears open for anything strange. He just nodded at them, having seen Pickering once already that day, and kept walking.

David greeted Ziva with a smile, and invited her inside, motioning the rookie to take her spot. Pickering looked confused, and David pulled him aside, explaining that while they appreciated his help with guard duty, he wasn't read into the case, and wouldn't be, so they needed to be alone for now. Ziva would fill in McGee later, but David would be the one to catch Ziva and Don up with the case so far. Pickering looked disappointed, but David shrugged it off, assuming that it was just an agent wanting to be let in on the latest crime.

Ziva and David walked into the room quietly, but Don waved them in. "He's still out from earlier," he said, directing it at Ziva.

David looked concerned. "What happened?"

Don looked down, frustrated. "He wasn't happy to have guards, he's worried about them getting hurt trying to protect him. Worked himself into such a state that the nurses had to sedate him."

David sighed. He should have known that the mathematician would react like that. He and Ziva took a seat and David quietly told them what had happened over the past two days with the case, and they had nearly identical reactions to Hadar: rage. Ziva stood and started pacing, and Don was clenching and unclenching his fists. David went ahead and told them the rest, which took nearly half an hour. He told Don that he would have something for him to do once they had the two suspects from LA.

Don stared at his agent. "Wow, I've missed quite a bit."

David gave him a grin. "Well, I think you're right where you need to be. Charlie needs you right now."

"He wants to be debriefed as soon as he can," Don told him. "I think he wants to try and put it behind him. He also knows how much we need his statement." A sudden scratching noise made him sit up. "Did you hear that?" he demanded.

Ziva and David exchanged a look. "Hear what?" Ziva asked.

Don stood up and went to the door and poked his head out, but McGee was just walking back, and Pickering was two feet from the door. The agent gave him a strange look, but Don just shook his head and went back to his seat. "Nothing, I thought I heard something. What is Pickering doing here again?"

"He's only here until 7," David reassured him. "Megan and Colby needed some rest, and everyone else had something to do, so we asked Terry if we could borrow him so that we could send Ziva and McGee home to rest before the flight gets here."

Don nodded. His hinky alarm was sending out a chime, but he ignored it. It was probably nothing. "Alright, you can head out if you want," he said to Ziva. "I think we've got it under control."

Ziva stood. "Thank you, Don. I talked with my father, and he has already changed his entire security detail for the next month, so reassure your brother that he is safe, and I am grateful for his advice."

Don gave her a small smile, and she left, likely grabbing McGee on her way out so that she could fill him in on everything she learned. Don waited until she closed the door, and turned to Don, speaking quietly. "Look, I have a bad feeling about something," he admitted. "I want you to be the one making the rounds, sound okay?"

David searched his boss' face. "You don't trust Pickering?" he asked quietly.

Don shrugged. "I don't know, I could be jumping at shadows, but I don't want to risk Charlie's safety, even if I am being paranoid. You cover the halls, make sure I'm not being paranoid .That way, anyone still has to go through me to get to him," he said, jerking his head at Charlie.

David clapped him on the shoulder. "We've all learned to trust your instincts. I'll keep Pickering at the door and do the rounds myself. Colby and Fornell are taking over at 7."

Don just nodded and let him walk outside and took his place once again by his brother.

* * *

David checked his watch as he went on his final round through the halls. It was 6:30, and he was catching Don's nerves. Something was wrong, he just wasn't sure of what it was. He just couldn't wait until Colby and Fornell got there to take over; he wanted to be out there doing something.

Charlie had woken up a few times, but David had told him they would get his statement the next day so that he could get a bit more rest. He clearly hadn't been happy about it, but didn't want to push. He really was tired and sore, which they all knew.

David reached the dead end of the hallway and double checked the storage room for something new and turned to head back when something hit his head, and all he felt was blinding pain before he blacked out.

* * *

Don was relaxing and trying not to fall asleep when there was a knock on the door. He knew that Charlie might wake up if he was too loud, so he got up to answer it, and saw Pickering standing there with two cups of coffee.

"Agent?" Don asked, unsure if he should get upset. He didn't want to think that the agent was stupid enough to leave his post, but was curious.

"Agent Sinclair brought them back, said this was for you," Pickering said with a grin, handing one to Don. "He said that it tastes a bit off, but that's hospital coffee for you."

"Tell me about it," Don said taking a sip. It did seem off, but he shrugged. It was hot coffee, and that was enough for him. "Thank him for me," he said, turning around to sit back down, when he started to get a bit dizzy. Thinking that he was just a bit tired – which he was – he took another gulp, then cursed as realization hit. He dropped the coffee and spun around.

"Something wrong, Agent Eppes?" Pickering asked with a sneer.

Don reached up and touched his lips, which were now numb. "What… you… David…" he forced out.

"Agent Sinclair?" Pickering said, taunting. "He's alive, though he'll have one hell of a headache soon. I should have done this earlier, but it took a while for me to bribe the nurse to bring me up two cups of coffee so that I could slip you those." Seeing the look on Don's face, he chuckled. "Don't worry, you won't die. I don't like to kill if I can help it. I was only paid to kill one person tonight." He picked up a pillow and moved towards Charlie's bed.

* * *

**Am I mean, or what? Hehe, I'm a jerk, I know it. I couldn't stop hurting Charlie just yet, the opportunites are endless! As always, let me know what you think!**


	30. Chapter 30

**Wow, the last chapter didn't get quite the reaction I was thinking it would... I must be losing my touch...**

**Disclaimer: Mine? *gasps* They're mine? All mine?! Squee! *wakes up* Well, damn.**

* * *

Colby had told Fornell just to meet him at the hospital, as he wanted to get some decent coffee for everyone at the hospital. He didn't often buy for the team, but this was more important than just lunch on the go. The line at the coffee shop was shorter than he'd expected, and he was happily running early. Maybe he would get some time to annoy Charlie a bit before he went on duty.

He took the elevator up to ICU, and felt cold wash over him when he saw that neither David nor the other agent were watching the door. That was not good, because he knew David quite well, and the man would never leave his post unless there was something keeping him from it.

He dropped the coffee off at the nurses' station and drew his service weapon, then motioned the nurses to get away, fast. He kicked in the door, and cursed at what he saw.

Don was on the floor, unconscious in a pool of coffee, and Pickering was standing over Charlie holding a pillow over his face. The man was smart enough to disconnect some of the machines so that the beeping didn't alert the nurses. Charlie was thrashing on the bed, trying to dislodge his attacker, but his movements were weak, due to his injuries. Colby only noticed all of that because of his time in the Middle East that had taught him to observe everything.

"FBI, drop it, Pickering!" he roared, taking aim. Pickering didn't even look up from what he was doing, but pushed harder, and Colby's heart faltered when he saw Charlie go limp. Without taking another moment, he shot Pickering in the side and shoved him off his friend. "Need some help in here!" he roared out of the open door. He holstered his weapon and felt for a pulse on Charlie's neck, almost passing out with relief when he felt it. He then went and knelt by his boss, ignoring the coffee that soaked his jeans, and did the same, and felt a slightly fast pulse under his fingers. He looked up when three security guards rushed into the room, guns drawn.

"Hands in the air!" one of them yelled.

Colby obeyed, but turned slightly to show that his weapon was holstered and pointed to his ID. "I'm FBI. This man," he pointed to the bleeding agent, "attempted to kill the patient, so I had to shoot him."

The security guard who had yelled went and took out Colby's ID, and moved out of the way as doctors and nurses rushed in with two gurneys. The guard looked closely at the ID as the nurses hurried to put Pickering on the stretcher and one doctor went to Charlie while another went to Don. He handed the ID back to Colby.

"What happened here?" he demanded.

Colby felt frantic as he looked between the brothers, then remembered something. Where was David? "Sir, my partner was supposed to be here as a guard, and he's missing. I need help to find him, he might be injured," he said quickly.

The guard scrutinized him for a moment before nodding. "I'll still need your story, so I'm coming with you," he warned.

Colby just nodded and left the room, hurrying through the halls and the areas that he'd walked earlier that day. Thinking of the best place to ambush someone, he headed for a storage room at the end of one of the halls and opened it. He cursed again when he saw David lying on the ground unconscious.

"David!" he yelled, kneeling next to him and turning him onto his back. He turned to the guard. "Get a doctor," he ordered.

The guard nodded and left, returning within the minute with a doctor. "What happened to him?"

"Looks like he got hit from behind," Colby answered, feeling the lump on David's head.

The doctor just nodded, and they all were relieved when David groaned, reaching a hand up to his head. "What happened?" he moaned.

"Easy there," Colby said softly. "You took a nasty knock to the head."

David's eyes flew open and he sat up. "Colby? Where's Don?"

Colby looked at the doctor, who took over. "Don's going to be alright, just let him look at you."

"I don't think there's any permanent damage, but I need you to come with me and get checked out."

David was about to argue, but was hit with a dizzy spell as Colby helped him to his feet. "Colby what happened?" he repeated.

"I'll tell you after you get looked at," Colby compromised. He jerked his head at the guard. "I still have to make a statement. I'll find you in a few," he promised.

David looked at his partner, wondering what the hell was going on. "See that you do."

Once David and the doctor had left, Colby turned to the guard. "Look, this is an open case with the FBI and NCIS. I need to call a few people to let them know what is going on, then I'll go with you."

The guard looked a bit annoyed, but nodded, eyes never leaving Colby.

Colby didn't bother saying anything else, but pulled out his phone and pressed the speed dial and pressed it to his ear. The adrenaline was leaving him and his whole body started shaking, but he needed to talk to the only other member of the team.

* * *

Megan had just gotten in the car with Ian when her phone rang. She slowly got it out, as she still wasn't quite awake yet. "Reeves," she said quietly.

"Megan, its Colby. Don't talk, just listen. Pickering tried to kill Charlie, he knocked David out and drugged Don with something. All three of them are being looked at right now, as is Pickering, since he now has a bullet hole in him. Not sure if he's going to make it."

Megan was frozen. Part of her was wondering if this was a practical joke, but she knew better. Colby would never joke about that. "Shit," was all she could come up with.

Colby nodded. "I know. Look, Fornell isn't here yet, I'm not sure if he's just running behind or if something happened to him, can you find out? The guards still need to question me and find out what happened, then I have to go look in on the rest of our team."

Megan was officially wide awake again. Oh, the wonders of adrenaline. "I'll phone him. If he doesn't answer, I'll call Gibbs. Call me when you hear anything about any of them. Who's the worst off?" she demanded. She felt Ian slow down and turn to look at her, but she ignored him for now.

"Pickering is the…."

"I don't give two shits about that man," she snapped. "I meant the other three, our team."

Colby grinned humorlessly. Megan was a good agent. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "David's the least injured, probably just a concussion; he was up and talking to me. Don was still out and his pulse was really fast, thanks to whatever drug he ingested. Pickering tried to suffocate Charlie with a pillow, and he was unconscious when I last saw him, so I don't know."

Megan took a steadying breath. "Alright, I'll have Ian drop me off at the hospital. He and the NCIS agents can handle the prisoner transport with the others that Wright is sending over. Get David's statement as soon as you can, I'll be there soon after I call Fornell."

"Thanks, Megan," Colby said tiredly and hung up.

Megan snapped her phone shut and punched the dashboard. "Bastard," she cursed through clenched teeth.

Ian had already turned the car around and was speeding down the road, sirens blaring. "What the hell is going on?" he demanded.

"Pickering, the agent that we sent with David, attacked him and Don and tried to kill Charlie. Colby shot him," she said as she dialed Fornell's number.

Thankfully the agent was doing alright, he had just needed to stop for gas. She gave him a quick rundown of the situation and told him to get to the hospital as soon as possible.

Ian got to the hospital and jumped out of the car with Megan. When she looked at him, he glared at her. "I'll meet them at the airport. I want to hear how they're doing."

She left it at that, and flashed her badge at the receptionist. "I need to speak with FBI agent Colby Granger. There was an incident…"

"I know," she interrupted. "He told me he was expecting you. He is in Room 281. That is Don Eppes' room."

Megan snarled under her breath at the circumstances but forced herself to smile at the woman. "Thank you," she said tightly and hurried off, Ian on her heels.

They reached the room and walked in without knocking. Don was still out, and Colby had jumped to his feet when the door flew open. He recognized them and collapsed back down. "Hey," he mumbled. "David should be here soon, the doctor said."

Megan nodded, and sat next to him. Ian stationed himself at the door, and they could tell he wouldn't budge for a while. He was looking around, eyes ablaze with fury, and only an idiot would take him on right then.

"What have you heard so far?" Megan asked Colby softly.

Colby sat back a bit, but his eyes were still closed. "I haven't heard anything about Charlie, but I told the security guard to keep that room guarded as if their lives depended on it. Don's going to be alright, they just need to flush the drugs out of his system. Pickering still had some of the drug on him, so they're looking at it to find out what it was."

Megan nodded, and they turned as the door opened again, this time admitting David and Fornell. Colby stood and spoke first to Fornell. "We need you on Charlie's room. Don't move from that room for anything unless you hear from one of us," he said, his voice firm and final.

Fornell just looked at him, but decided not to point out that they really couldn't order him around. This certainly wasn't the time for that, with over half their team injured. Megan was still nursing a sore shoulder, Don was drugged, David had been knocked out, and Charlie… Fornell decided not to think about that right now. Looks like Colby kept lucking out. "I won't leave until someone else from this case comes to relieve me," he promised and took off down the halls.

Colby then turned to David. "What's the word?" he asked.

David rubbed his neck. "Couple stitches, little concussion," he said dismissively. "I'll be fine. So, you want to tell me what the hell is going on?"

Colby sat down again and put his head in his hands. Megan took pity on him and filled David in on what they knew so far. David was so furious he started shaking.

"Don was right. Damn it!" David cursed.

Megan jumped on that. "What do you mean, Don was right?" she asked.

David forced himself to calm down and looked at her. "He asked me to take the rounds and station Pickering at the door. He said he just had a feeling that he couldn't trust Pickering and didn't want him wandering around."

Megan sighed, then she groaned as she thought of something else. "We have to let Terry know, since he's one of hers. Not to mention that we have to get going if we're going to get to Regan by the time that flight gets here."

Colby clenched his teeth. Why did everything have to happen at once? "I'll stay here on Don's room until he wakes up, then we'll go to Charlie's room as soon as he can be moved. You three should get going."

"I'm staying," Ian said from the doorway. When they looked at him, he glared. "We can't afford to trust anyone right now, and we still have running around to do here to find out about Pickering and can't leave anyone unprotected. I stay."

Colby nodded. "Thanks, Edgerton. I hadn't thought that this case would be this huge when we called you in, honest."

Ian just shrugged and went back to his post. Megan looked at David. "I'll call Terry while you drive," she offered, and he agreed quickly. He really didn't want to break it to his former teammate that one of her agents was, at best a murderer, at worst – and very likely – a traitor to the Bureau and possibly the country.

* * *

**Wow, I really am mean, aren't I? Hehehe, you love it and you know it!**


	31. Chapter 31

**Hey all. I had meant to post this yesterday, but it was such an exhausting day: 1st birthday party for my niece, surprise 30th anniversary party for my parents, then a case for work that was very depressing. So, that's my explanation for taking a while to post. Also, it's a bit shorter since I haven't gotten a hold of someone to double check the next chapter, and I didn't think it was ready to post just yet. So I shall try and post it later.**

**Thanks for all the wonderful reviews, they make my day, though I still don't own the wonderful characters.**

* * *

Gibbs was pacing in front of the Gate. Where the hell were the FBI agents? Tony, Ziva, McGee and Saks were standing with him, they were all wondering the same thing. Just as Gibbs was about to pull out his cell to give them a call, he saw Megan and David walking purposefully towards them. He opened his mouth to say something, but then he saw the look in their eyes. It was one of unbridled fury. He recognized the look from the first time he'd met them earlier in the week. Only this one was magnified by a lot. He gave them a look, wondering what caused it.

Megan understood. "Pickering tried to kill Charlie, drugged Don, and gave him a concussion," she said, jerking her head towards David.

The agents' eyes widened in shock. They certainly weren't expecting that. Gibbs was the first to speak. "How are the brothers?"

"Colby called as we pulled up and said that Don had woken and was being transferred to Charlie's room. The doctors are still with him, we should know something soon. Fornell, Colby, and Ian are staying on the door, with hospital security on Pickering for us."

"How is Pickering?" Saks demanded. He knew the agent, had taken him out for lunch whe he first joined the FBI. He thought he knew the man.

"He's in surgery, but they think he'll be fine," she said, voice hard. She knew that she should be glad that he was going to be alright, since they could question him, find out more of what was going on, but damn it! He'd assaulted David and Don, and attempted to kill Charlie!

Ziva spoke up next. "David, are you sure you are alright? You…"

"I'm fine," he said firmly. "What we need now are answers, and that means questioning the suspects that should be here any minute."

Ziva nodded and backed down. She was doing a lot better, as the injury had been nearly a week ago, but the injuries to the others on the case were starting to pile up. Gibbs, Megan, Saks, and she had been shot, David had gotten a concussion, Don had been drugged, and that wasn't even counting Charlie. This case was getting bad, fast.

Just then, the doors to the Gate opened, and two men wearing handcuffs stepped out with four FBI agents.

"Harrington, good to see you," David greeted him.

"Sinclair, Reeves, what have you gotten yourselves into?" he asked with a tight smile.

Megan shrugged with her good shoulder. "Hopefully we'll find out when we get to NCIS. We have three cars here, how do you want to do this?"

Harrington thought for a moment. "Let's do Akim, me, Rob," he said, indicating the agent next to him, "Sinclair, and this one," he pointed to Tony. "Then Noam, Alex, Jonny," he indicated the other two that came with him, "Reeves, and you," he pointed to Gibbs. "The rest will go in the last car. How long does it take to get to where we're headed?"

"About an hour, less with sirens," Tony supplied.

"Alright, let's get this done. I've got plans for tomorrow," Harrington said, smirking at David, who scowled back.

"Lucky," he muttered, and they turned to leave.

* * *

Colby was pacing in Charlie and Don's room. Don had woken briefly and given a brief statement on what happened, then was out like a light again. The doctor said that was normal, since he would need rest to let the drugs do their work. Fornell was making the rounds, and Ian was a silent statue at the door, and David knew that his temper would be showing, discouraging anyone but hospital personnel from entering the room.

The door opened, and a doctor walked inside, and Ian closed it again behind him. The doctor did not look very happy. He cleared his throat, which woke Don.

"Doctor?" he asked, sitting up slightly.

"Agent Eppes, my name is Dr. Winter, I am working on your brother's case," he said, holding a file.

Don paled slightly. "How is he?"

"He has seen better days, I'm afraid. The struggling that he did with his attacker moved one of the broken ribs, and I'm going to have to do surgery immediately to prevent any damage from being done to his lungs or any other internal organs."

Don closed his eyes in frustration. "Risks?"

"Minimal," the doctor assured him. "Nothing has been punctured yet, and he's had a bit of time to recoup from the other surgeries he's had. He should be joining you in here before too long. I just need you to sign this form for him."

Don scrawled his name quickly, and the doctor left. Don just looked at Colby. "Time to call Megan and let her know," he said. "You might as well call Wright while you're at it, maybe him first, thinking about it."

Colby hesitated. They hadn't informed the AD of any of their developments. Fear of Bray or one of his associates taping the line kept them from it, though they would all write rather lengthy reports when they went home. He nodded. "I'll do it down the hall and send Ian in here," he said. When he saw Don open his mouth to object, he rode right over him. "Don't think about it," he warned. "You might not be helpless right now, but don't think that I'm taking anything for granted."

Don just shrugged and leaned back against the pillows. He wished that there was something that he could do, but all he wanted to do right now was sleep. Well, he could do some desk work. He spotted the laptop that was still on the bedside table and opened it. Looking up anything for Pickering was legal, since he was technically under arrest, him being in surgery notwithstanding.

Ian stepped into the room and closed the door. "How you feeling, Eppes?" he asked.

"Fine," Don said, powering it up.

"What are you doing?" he asked curiously.

"Looking into anything for Pickering that could tell us something. Let's see if he has any connections to Bray that we don't know about."

* * *

The SUVs got to NCIS in record time, and the NCIS team got them settled into different rooms, and checked in on Makin in the last one. Harrington pulled Megan and David aside when they were all settled.

"Where's Eppes and Granger?" he asked bluntly. He could tell that something was wrong.

Megan bit her lip. "He's in the hospital with Charlie and Colby is keeping guard with Edgerton," she said honestly. No reason to tell people that Don was a patient as well; not yet at least.

Harrington studied her for a minute. He knew that she wasn't being completely honest with him, but he chose to leave it for now. "Look, Reeves, Wright told us that there was a lot going on here, though he didn't know everything. He told us to stay here if there was anything you needed us for. You know me and mine, so there's no worry about not being able to trust us."

Megan looked at David, who was thinking as quickly as she was. It was true that they both knew Harrington's team. They had worked with them on quite a few cases, and they had even borrowed Charlie for a case about a year ago that was a stock fraud case that had a lot of numbers.

David decided to test them a bit, and hope that he and Megan would be able to detect any dishonesty. "What do you know about Hadar Bray?" he asked quietly.

Harrington looked confused. "He was promoted to section chief here, right? I know I haven't heard anything about his work, we were all just surprised at how fast he was able to climb the ladder."

David and Megan studied him closely, and looked at the reactions of his team. Either they could win an Oscar, or they were telling the truth. There was no fidgeting, no unexplained expressions of anxiety or nerves, and no looking to the others for a cue. Besides, they weren't necessarily needed for the case itself.

"Look Nathan," David said, using the agent's first name. "I'm not going to lie to you, this is bad. I mean, this is really bad, and I think you would be better off not knowing the details. There is something that you can do for us, but it's not going to be a fun detail."

Harrington just nodded. "I understand need to know. It would be nice to help you wrap this up quickly, there are a lot of cases waiting for you lot back home," he said with a small smile. "What do you need?"

Megan knew where David was going, and it was smart. "What we need are bodies," she said. "Colby, Edgerton, and Agent Fornell are doing guard duty at the hospital, but we could use a few more people up there, especially on Pickering's door for when he gets out of surgery. It's not a glamour detail, sorry, but it would take a load off our minds to have people we can trust up there."

Harrington looked a bit confused. "I know that I can't be fully read into the case, but I understood very little of that. Edgerton is here? And who is Pickering?"

David sighed and gave them the barest details. "I'll let Don know that you and your guys are on your way up so that he doesn't freak. If you guys get too tired or distracted to do it well, call and let us know, we can rotate you guys out to get some rest. We have Charlie's hotel room that we've reserved for the foreseeable future, and you guys can get some rest if you need it."

Harrington was a bit impressed at how efficiently they were working. "Sounds good. I don't need details on all of this, and frankly I don't think I want them. We need anything, we'll call you," he promised. "Can we use one of the SUVs to get to the hospital?"

Megan fished out the keys and tossed them to him. "Good luck, Nate," she said with a smile, and they left.

Gibbs was in the observation room with his team when Megan and David got down there. "Alright, how we doing this?"

Megan looked at Gibbs squarely. "I think Tony and I should take Noam. I'm a trained profiler, and he'll probably be easier to crack since we have his cousin in the other room. I think I can get a lot out of him," she told him.

Gibbs just nodded, then looked at David. "You want to be in there with me?" he asked. Normally, he would do it by himself or one from his team, but he knew that the other agent needed to be in there. He didn't know how David conducted an interrogation, but he would learn on the go, which he was good at.

David gave a feral grin. "You don't have to ask me twice."

* * *

**Sorry it was a bit shorter than the last two, but I'll get the interrogations up as soon as possible. Until then, I hope you enjoyed, and feel free to keep telling me what you think!**


	32. Chapter 32

**Finally, the interrogation. I couldn't get a hold of my buddy to read through it and tell me what he thought, so hopefully you don't all hate me and think that I butchered the characters. If I did, a million apologies!**

* * *

Saks, Ziva, McGee, and Abby, who McGee had dragged up to watch, were in the observation booth. It was one of the special ones, where they could view both interrogations. They chose to watch Noam's first.

"Noam Mazar," Tony read from the file in front of him. "Sounds like you've been a busy, busy guy. Attempted medical school, but dropped out of that, then you drop off the radar for a few years before resurfacing with Asaf Sayar and his buddies in Hamas. Now, what would a guy like you be doing with guys like that, huh?" he asked, straddling the chair and looking at the man in cuffs.

Noam just stared at them, smirking. After a minute, he scoffed. "What do you want?"

Megan leaned over the table, her face now inches from his. "We want to know your side of what happened the last few days. Who told you to do everything, how did you get involved in something like this. Everything."

Tony had to hide a grin. Good cop, bad cop it would be, and he knew which role he was in. His thoughts were interrupted when Noam's smirk just widened.

"Why should I tell you anything? Anything I tell you could make things worse for me," he said knowingly.

Tony looked at the file again. "Assisted kidnapping of a federal consultant, assisted torture of said consultant, attempted kidnapping, fake identity that you used to board the flight to LA a few days ago. You really think that things could get worse for you? That's just what we can prove right now. The FBI in LA are looking at the guns that you and your associate were able to bring in your checked luggage, seeing if either of them match to the bullets that were fired upon liaison Officer Ziva David."

Noam's face turned ugly as he scowled at the table. "Dumbass never could hit what he fired at," he muttered.

"And who would 'he' be?" Megan demanded, leaning up against the one way mirror.

Noam kept his mouth shut at that, not wanting to incriminate himself further.

Megan knew it was her turn to add fuel to this fire. "Tony, I told you we wouldn't get anything from him," she snapped, walking around the table. "We need to keep leaning on Makin."

Noam's head snapped up at that. "Makin?!" he yelled, starting to stand, but Megan gripped his shoulder and slammed him back into the chair.

"Yeah, that's right. We have him in custody right now, and let me tell you, it's not looking too good for him right now."

"She has a point, Noam," Tony said. "He was at the scene of a kidnapping, and the victim was badly tortured. There's a good chance that he was the one that did the torturing."

"It wasn't him!" Noam screamed. "Makin is a good kid, he would never hurt that man! I worked hard to get him on Hadar's payroll, but he was never deeply involved."

Megan smirked at Tony, and Noam paled, realizing too late what he'd said. McGee looked at Ziva in the booth. "Damn, she's good."

Ziva nodded. "I have to agree. She is playing bad cop quite well." Part of her was glad she wasn't in there right now. The man would be going to the hospital himself when she was done with him.

"Hadar?" Tony asked, feigning curiosity. "Who is Hadar?"

Noam was mentally kicking himself, but he wasn't about to let his cousin take the fall for him. "Hadar Bray. He's some bigshot in the FBI, but that's just a cover. He's one of the shotcallers in Hamas, and was using his position to learn everything he could and sell it and make a profit."

McGee's jaw dropped. "It was that easy?" he demanded.

Ziva smirked. "She really is good."

Tony was nodding. "Alright, Noam, how did you happen to grab Dr. Eppes last week?"

Noam sighed. He knew that the game was over, he had already screwed himself over. He might as well give all he knew, see if he could get some points to avoid GITMO. "Asaf approached me, told me that Hadar needed us to grab the geek. He said it would be easy, since he was right here for the taking. Akim, Ben and I went and grabbed him, but Ben got knocked out before we could do anything."

"Who shot Officer David?" Tony asked, voice getting hard. He didn't take it lightly when someone shot at his partner.

"Akim," he said, and Megan could see that he was telling the truth. "I was driving the car. We took him to the cabin, and Hadar called and said that we needed to get the passcodes to the Mossad security program that Eppes made. Akim had tried to get hackers to get it before, but they couldn't break it, so he killed them."

"Who did?" Megan demanded.

Noam looked up at her. "Hadar did. He said he couldn't leave loose ends."

Megan was suddenly grateful for sending Harrington to the hospital. She didn't have time to worry about another person being sent after Charlie. "Do you have any knowledge of someone named Pickering?" she asked, wanting to know of any other FBI agents that they couldn't trust.

* * *

Gibbs and David strode into the other interrogation rooms, and Gibbs slapped the file down in front of Akim, who, like Noam, was smirking at them.

"Well, Sinclair, he certainly doesn't look like a John Smith, does he?" Gibbs asked, sitting down and looking at the passport that they had recovered from Akim.

David half sat on the table. "No, that he does not. Let's see. How much is faking an identity nowadays worth?"

"10 years at least, especially if they can be proven to be have terrorist ties," Gibbs said absently, flipping through the file. "There's the wrist slap charge for grand theft auto. How about attempted kidnapping?"

"Well, there's the kidnapping of Dr. Eppes and the attempted kidnapping of Mr. Eppes in LA," David said, mock thoughtful. "Together, they're about 35 years. Actually, it would be more, since the successful kidnapping was a federal consultant. That could be treason right there."

"Then there's the torture," Gibbs continued. "Battery and attempted murder."

David's phone vibrated against his hip, and he knew that it would be important, since everyone knew that he shouldn't be disturbed right now. He unclipped it, and read the short text from Harrington, and his feral grin came back.

**Casings shot at Officer David match to gun in Akim's luggage**

He stood and walked behind Akim, putting his hands on his shoulders. "Gibbs, what about the attempted murder of a liaison officer from Mossad?"

Gibbs saw red. So this was the asshole that shot Ziva. "Well, that's a fairly serious offence right there," he gritted out, standing up as well.

Akim protested. "I never shot that bitch! You can't prove that!" he yelled, starting to stand.

Like Megan, David shoved him down with much more force than necessary. "You truly are an idiot," he snarled. "Next time you check a weapon on a plane, make sure it isn't the same one that you used in a prior crime!"

"You know, we don't even have to try you here," Gibbs snapped, slapping his hands onto the table. "Your first crime wasn't kidnapping or torture, it was the attempted murder of a Mossad Officer. What do you think they would do to you if we sent you to them for your sentencing?" he bellowed.

Akim started shaking. He would rather die than be sent to Mossad; he knew what would likely happen to him there, especially since the bitch he tried to kill was the daughter of Director David. "What do you want?" he asked, sweat beading along his forehead. Now he wished that he had been harder on the professor. Maybe then they would have gotten the information to off the Director, and he would be a very rich man on an island far away from here.

"Give us everything you know about Asaf Sayar and Hadar Bray, and we'll see if we can convince Director David to let you stay here," David bargained, but his face was hard. "Of course, we'll also need information on what happened in the cabin to Dr. Charles Eppes. I want to know about every bruise, cut and broken bone that he has."

Akim was sweating. He knew that is crimes were serious, and chances were that if he stayed here, he would easily face the lethal injection. "Take the death penalty off the table," he offered, hands shaking.

Suddenly Gibbs was in his face. "Look, you are going to be lucky to avoid being sent back to Israel. Don't play us!"

"Forget it, Gibbs," David snarled. "He's not going to give us anything. Just call the Director, let's get him the first flight to Tel Aviv."

"No!" Akim cried. Sweat was now running down his face. "No, please not there!"

Abby turned to Ziva, whose smirk was stretching across her whole face. "Is Mossad really that scary to people?" she asked hesitantly.

Ziva didn't turn to look at her; she was busy watching Akim freak out. "It can be, especially to terrorists. We do not take his crimes lightly. He has a reason to be terrified."

"You have a choice here, Akim," David told him harshly. "Either you can tell us what we want to know, or we can send you to Israel. It's your choice, but you have to choose now."

Akim lowered his head into his trembling hands. "Alright, what do you want to know?"

* * *

Colby was not a happy person. For starters, he wished that he were at NCIS watching those bastards sweat, which he knew David could do with his hands tied behind his back. He'd watched his partner conduct countless interrogations, and wished that he were there with a bag of popcorn. He hadn't managed to get a hold of Megan, as her cell was off; he assumed that she was in interrogation. Also, watching Don pace off his nerves was getting him dizzy.

"Dude, sit down. The surgery isn't going to go any faster by you wearing a hole in the floor," he said tiredly. It had been such a long day.

Don rounded on Colby. "What else am I supposed to do?" he seethed. "My brother is in his third surgery in two days, I haven't found anything to link Pickering to Bray, and I have no idea if they're getting anything out of those bastards at NCIS."

Colby sighed. "You need to get some rest. You were drugged with something pretty nasty, from what the nurses told you. If you don't calm down a bit, you're going to collapse before the doctors come out to talk to you."

Don glared at his agent, but he knew that he was only being truthful. He threw himself onto the bed he'd been in and grabbed the laptop. If he had ever hated desk work, it was nothing compared to now. He needed to be out and doing something to make sure that his family was going to be safe, but there was nothing he could do, all because he was stupid enough to drink from that damn coffee!

With a frustrated sigh, he kept at the bank checks, phone dumps, and everything else he could think of. He just needed to keep busy. He was so intent on his typing that he didn't notice when the door opened and the doctor came in until Colby nudged him.

He quickly set the computer down and looked up with hopeful eyes. "How is he, doc?" he asked, keeping his voice as even as he could.

Dr. Winter smiled warmly at him. "He's doing well. He'll be staying in Recovery again for a few hours, then I'll have him transferred to this room if you would like."

Don nodded and looked at Colby when the doctor left the room. "You want to head to Recovery, or just send Harrington's team?"

Colby already knew his answer. "I'm going to Recovery with two of Harrington's people. With Ian at your door, no one is getting to you, and I'll make sure the same is said for Charlie. Not to mention the two that are on Pickering for us."

Don just nodded and made a shooing motion with his hands. "Then hurry up, I don't want him unprotected for a second."

* * *

**So, this was the chapter that I am most worried about, simply because it's really important, and the characters need to work well. I think I did an alright job, but I'm never sure, particularly with Gibbs.**

**Anywho, I hope you enjoyed, and I'll try and update again soon. **


	33. Chapter 33

**Hey guys, sorry about the wait. I was at a camp last week volunteering and I didn't have my laptop, since there wasn't exactly WIFI where I was at. I hope this update makes up for it!**

**Disclaimer: Nope, still not mine**

* * *

Megan and Tony walked into the observation room with smug looks. "Well, you didn't do half bad in there," Tony complimented Megan with a half bow, holding the door open for her.

She smirked. "I knew having Makin here would work in our favor." She stopped talking as they saw that Gibbs and David were finishing up with Akim. "How did things go in there?"

"Gibbs scared him like a little girl by threatening to send him to Officer David's buddies in Israel," Saks told them.

Tony looked like he was about to say something rather rude to Saks, but Megan interrupted him. "I take it Noam was telling the truth? Akim was the one that shot you?" she asked Ziva.

Ziva nodded. "David received a message; I guess the LA teams must have found the gun and matched the casings to it."

Megan smiled. "Well, that's one good thing," she said aloud, and they watched as Gibbs and David picked up the note pad that Akim had been writing on, and made their way into observation.

"Let's get somewhere more comfortable," David suggested as they opened the door, and the group filed out and went to the squad room, each going to a desk and laying out their notes from the interrogations.

First thing that they compared notes on was Bray. "Alright, what do they agree on?" Gibbs asked, looking at Noam's statements.

"They both admitted that he was responsible for killing the other hackers," McGee said quickly. "The problem is that we don't have any proof, and neither do they, just their word against an FBI Section Chief."

Gibbs nodded and Megan was the next to speak up. "We have their statements that he was the one to convince them to kidnap Eppes."

"Wait!" Abby interrupted. "They both mentioned that they got their payments through offshore accounts. Timmy, let's see if we can tie Hadar Bray to the accounts that the transfers came from!"

"You're a genius, Abby," McGee said, then looked at Gibbs.

"What are you waiting for?" he demanded. "Go, go, find something." The two hurried to Abby's lab, almost running towards the elevator. "What else?"

"It'll be circumstantial, but let's see when Asaf and Hadar were at the same place, same time," Tony offered, he and Ziva going over to his computer and started typing.

"Right, Reeves help him with that," Gibbs told Megan, who just nodded and pulled McGee's chair over to the other desk.

"I have a few contacts in HR," Saks said reluctantly. "I can pull Bray's file without tipping him off."

Gibbs waved him off, and the agent left. "Let's get some coffee, Sinclair," he said quietly, and the last of the group left the building, each with a mission in mind.

* * *

Don stared at the computer. Bray was good at hiding any connection to Pickering; he couldn't pull anything from the rookie's emails or phones that suggested that he had anything other than an official relationship between the two men. There were a lot of calls from a blocked number, and he couldn't trace it. He sighed and decided to dig deeper into Pickering's past, as far as he could. There had to be something he was missing.

He was so intent that he nearly missed the knock on the door. Blinking, he closed the laptop and called for them to enter, hand rested on his gun. He relaxed slightly when he saw David and Gibbs come into the room.

"What do you got?" he demanded.

"Akim and Noam both cracked," David told him with a grin. "We have people on getting the hard evidence to nail the bastard."

"The problem," Gibbs interjected, "is getting a warrant for his arrest without tipping him off. We don't want him to get freaked and bolt."

Don thought about that for a moment. "Get me a secure line with Robin," he said, getting up and detaching the last of the equipment that the nurses had him hooked up to.

David tried to stop him. "Don, you can't…"

"Don't even try that with me," he said sternly, ripping off the last one. "I'm fine, the drug is out of my system. I'll sign out AMA. It's time for me to get back to this; I've had hours of rest. Now, get me a secure phone to call up Robin. I'll have her get the warrant for us."

"And if he has someone in the DA's office?" Gibbs asked.

"We cover him, discreetly, and tail him if he leaves, until we get the warrant signed. First, we need something a least a bit more solid, since I doubt a judge will give us a warrant on the word of two terrorists."

Gibbs nodded. "I'll get you a secure phone, and I'll check up with the team to see where we are on the evidence."

David was the next to comment. "Don, you can't come with us," he said, bracing himself for the explosion.

Don didn't erupt, but was almost as scary. "What is that supposed to mean, Agent Sinclair?" he asked quietly, but venomously.

"Do you want to come with us, or stay here and help protect Charlie?" he asked, and they all knew the answer.

Don gritted his teeth, and considered both options, which both sucked for him. "Alright, look. He's in Recovery with Colby for a few hours. Chances are I won't see him before that, anyway. As soon as he's back in a normal room, I'll come back. Until then, I'm back on this case. Deal with it," he snapped, and they all started moving.

* * *

McGee was typing as quickly as he could, and Abby was sucking down another Caf-Pow to get some more energy for this. They were both getting frustrated, since Bray was clearly good at covering his tracks, making sure that very little could actually be traced back to him.

As soon as she was finished with her drink, Abby pushed him aside and took over the typing. "We have to get this guy, McGee!" Abby said firmly. "An FBI agent who is selling information and people to terrorist organizations, and who is using his position to get closer to …"

"Abby, we got something," McGee interrupted when the computer beeped. "Looks like this smart guy isn't so smart after all. Thanks to Tony and Megan, we have the names of the previous hackers that Hadar killed, so we have a timeline as to when the other terrorists got their payments. And here," he said, hitting a few keys so that the information came up on the big screen, "we can see that he used his actual name in making the transfer."

"You did it!" Abby squealed, hugging him tightly. "Nice job!"

"Thanks, Abby. I gotta call Gibbs," he said grabbing for his phone, just as Tony, Ziva and Megan ran into the room.

"Probie, we got something," Tony said, and motioned Megan over to the computer.

Megan ran over and typed in a few things, and they all grinned at what they saw. "Turns out Hadar wasn't always as careful as he is now. We have multiple photos of Hadar passing things to Sayar in Israel, thanks to our Mossad officer," she said with a grin towards Ziva, who smiled back.

Ziva took over. "Thanks to Makin, we know when and where he met Hadar to get his payment, and there was an ATM across the street, getting a photo of both of them."

McGee was already dialing. When their boss answered, he smirked satisfactorily. "Boss, we got him."

* * *

Don hung up the phone, and sat back into the car seat with a relieved sigh. Robin was furious at everything going on in DC, and would call him back on the secure line to let him know when the warrant was signed.

Gibbs had volunteered to stay at the hospital, as he hadn't done guard duty yet, as long as they called him when it was time to move in, and they readily agreed. So it was him and David in the car, headed for Bray's home. It was a Saturday, so they knew he wasn't at the FBI, and they found his car at his house.

The house was enormous, more of a mansion than a house. The yard was wide and sweeping, clearly there were quite a few gardeners who worked there, as neither could see Bray being too concerned to do it himself. There was a six car garage, most likely housing cars that cost their yearly salaries put together. There was even the view of a lake in the backyard. Clearly the job of traitor paid quite well. "Seems a bit nice for an agent's salary, doesn't it?" David asked with scowl.

Don gave a noncommittal grunt and focused on the front door. They were parked several houses down to avoid being made, and were just waiting in case he made a move. He was struggling to contain himself from running into the house and eliminating Bray as a threat to his family, but he knew that he needed to do everything the legal way.

"So what did Robin say?" David asked, taking a drink of his coffee. He was used to stakeouts with Colby, and they always made sure to talk to pass the time.

"She was going to call Judge Mann," Don told him with a smirk.

David whistled. "Smart girl you've got there." Mann was a female judge who was the hardest against corruption of any judge on the bench, which was saying something. She made sure that anyone in her office went through the most stringent background checks, and didn't let anyone in if there was a single skeleton in their closet, ensuring that they were all squeaky clean. If there was a single person who could keep a cap on this and make sure it didn't get out, it would be Judge Mann.

They had been sitting there for nearly two hours when the front door opened, and Bray came out, headed for the garage.

"Looks like we've got movement," Don said, squinting at the house. Sure enough, Bray was climbing into his car and backing out of his driveway. "Keep a good distance, but don't spook him," he said, though he knew David was smart enough not to. They drove out of the neighborhood, trying to keep a couple cars between them at all times

"There anyway we can get another car out here, just in case he makes us?" David asked, eyes fixed on the car three in front of them. He was paranoid about losing the man, which was something no one wanted right then.

Don already had his cell out and was calling DiNozzo. He figured the NCIS team would be good at this, and they deserved a bit of a bite at this bastard, too.

"DiNozzo," Tony answered from the squad room. They were all waiting for something to happen, and steadily losing their minds as the silence had worn on.

"Tony, it's Don. Look, we're getting the warrant on Bray, but he's on the move. We need another car out here to follow."

Tony stood and covered the mouthpiece. "They need us to help tail Bray," he told his teammates, and they all grabbed their bags. Talking into the phone again, he asked, "Where we headed?"

After Don gave them the location and promised to let them know if he changed course, he hung up as they hurried to the cars. Tony got into the driver's seat and started the car.

"How we playing this?" McGee asked.

"Don't worry, I have an idea," Tony said, which, shockingly, didn't reassure the other agents, who looked at him carefully. "I'm going to make sure that Don can keep up with them, but Bray won't even notice their car. Trust me."

* * *

** A bit shorter, sorry about that, but it seemed like the best place to stop. It's also picking up (again) Let me know what you think! :-)**


	34. Chapter 34

**Here you go! I've been updating A Past Come Back to Haunt, for those of you who were patient enough to wait for a year! But there was no way I was going to start that and leave this, no worries :-)**

**Disclaimer: *laughs hysterically* You're funny!**

* * *

Tony was driving fast as he was thinking even faster. He had an idea of how to do this, but it was a bit risky. He didn't think that a warrant would take too long to get, and he thought that they could distract Bray just long enough. He made his way onto the street that Don last told them they were on, and sure enough, saw the SUV and a car matching Bray's four cars in front of it.

He grinned as they made their way forward, and grinned at Don as they passed him. "What are you doing?" McGee asked curiously.

"Rule 27, Probie," Tony said in a mock patient voice. "We just have to make sure that Bray keeps an eye on us, and not on the others." He thought for a moment. "Check to see if we have any GPS trackers back there."

McGee unbuckled and went to look in the trunk, returning moments later with two. He passed one up to Ziva, who was riding shotgun, and sat back down.

Tony nodded, and pulled off his gun, sticking it in the glove compartment, and slid his bade around to the back of his jeans, his jacket hiding it. Then he turned up the radio and rolled down the windows. "Make sure your badges and guns aren't showing," he warned. Before either could ask, he pulled up right behind Bray, seeing a gas station less than a block away.

Bray stopped at a red light, and Tony slowed a bit too slowly, and rammed right into him. "HEY!" Bray yelled, turning around in his seat to glare daggers at the SUV. When the light turned green, Bray pulled off into the gas station, Tony only a beat behind him.

Ziva saw the FBI agents park down at the shopping center a hundred yards away. She knew they would be confused, but knew to play it cool and keep a distance.

"Oh, man, I'm so sorry," Tony said in a rather convincing New York drawl. "I didn't even see you there."

Bray got out of his car and stalked towards the back of his car to look at the damage. Thankfully for him, it was mostly superficial. "You got insurance, buddy?" he demanded.

Tony nodded, hurrying for his wallet as he walked forward. "Let's exchange information, we can work this out," he said, handing his ID to the guy.

Before Ziva could object, he read the name. "Tony DiNardo, huh? Never heard of you," he said suspiciously.

Tony laughed though, and McGee took advantage of the distraction to put the GPS under the passenger side of the car. "Dude, you know all the people in DC? Besides, my girl and I just moved here," he said, gesturing to Ziva.

He just nodded, and wrote everything down on his notepad after handing Tony his own information; he kept a close eye on him as he did the same. "What did you move here for?" he asked casually, but Tony knew the guy was fishing for information, able to tell that something was off.

He had to play this cool. "We're looking for work, actually. Heard there were a few openings at the hospital. She's a nurse, see?"

Bray looked at them, still wondering, but he shrugged. It sounded legit enough, and he knew that there were almost always openings for nurses.

* * *

Don and David were trying not to laugh at the situation. "That was ballsy," David commented with a smirk. "I can't believe Tony just rammed him like that."

Don nodded. "Tell me about it. I hope NCIS has good insurance, is all I can say."

David chuckled. "The way they just did that makes me think they've done it before."

Don shook his head, and then the secure phone that he had rang. He hurried to answer it and put it to his ear. "Eppes."

"Good news. Mann just signed the warrant for the arrest of one Hadar Bray, FBI Section Chief," Robin told him, a grin in her voice.

Don's jaw dropped. "It hasn't even been five hours!" he exclaimed, checking his watch.

"I know, but I've had her sign a lot of warrants for me, quite a few of them were for your team, so she knows me and she knows you. Plus, Charlie helped her with some program for her background checks, so when she heard that all of this revolved around his kidnapping, she was more than happy to help. The evidence was just icing on the cake."

Don grinned. "Remind me to thank Charlie later. Alright, fax the warrant to NCIS, since I don't trust there to not be a leak at the FBI. We'll bring him in."

"Sounds good, Don," she said, and hung up.

"Got the warrants," Don said, pulling out his own cell and dialing Tony's number.

David whistled as they waited for Tony to answer the phone.

"Tony DiNardo," Tony answered, hoping that the name wouldn't throw off Don.

"Tony, it's Don, we've got the warrants. Place this bastard under arrest, we'll pull up and throw him in our car," Don said, putting the car in drive.

"That sounds like a plan, buddy," Tony said. "I'll be sure to see you soon, I appreciate it," he said, and hung up. He shrugged with a grin. "Old buddy wants to meet up. Sorry about this."

Bray was about to shrug, when he realized that something was wrong. Just was McGee and Ziva went for their weapons, he saw another SUV heading towards them. He pulled his own SIG out of its holster and held it up, just as the other two did the same thing.

"Hadar Bray, NCIS, you are under arrest," Ziva yelled, holding her arms steady.

Bray considered his options. The other car was closing in fast. He ducked behind his still open driver door and started firing at the agents, grinning as they went for cover. Hearing someone behind him, he whipped around in time to see McGee attempting to sneak up on him. He lashed out, kicking the gun out of his hands. He grabbed the arm, spun him around, and put the barrel of his gun against the man's temple.

"Drop your weapons and kick them away, or he dies!" he screamed, just as Don parked, and he and David jumped out, taking cover behind their doors as well.

"You don't want to do that, Hadar!" David yelled. "We have a warrant, don't make things worse for yourself!"

"Drop them now. You know I'll do this!"

Don looked over at Tony, and saw pure hatred in his eyes. For all the teasing Tony did to McGee, it was clear that they were close. "Alright, I'm laying it down now!" Don yelled, making a show of putting his gun at his feet and kicking it forward a few feet.

"Good, now the rest of them!" he called, and grinned when they all obeyed. "Alright, you two," he said, pointing at Don and David, "move away from the car. I'm taking it. Oh, and toss me the keys to the other one!" He grinned when Ziva threw him the keys.

Don nodded, keeping his hands up, and jerked his head at David, telling him to play along for now. They both moved away from the car, and Hadar kept his grip on McGee, pulling him towards the car with him, using him as a shield. He got to the driver's side and saw the keys were still in the ignition.

Keeping an eye on the agents he pushed McGee forward a few inches and slammed the butt of his gun into McGee's head. He didn't even take the time to watch him fall to the pavement, and took off down the road, tires squealing.

"DAMN!" Don roared, watching him take off.

Ziva ran to McGee and helped him up. He was barely bleeding, and was still conscious, so they were relieved. Nonetheless, they helped him into the other SUV and made him sit for a while.

Tony looked at Don and David. He knew he couldn't blame them for what happened. Hadar had great instincts, and that was mostly what killed their bust. He went for his cell, which was thankfully still in his pocket. "I'll get a BOLO out on him and the car," he said, dialing the number.

"I left the tracker in the backseat," McGee called. "We'll be able to track him."

"Then we'd better bring the soldiers, he will not go down without a fight," Ziva said.

"The term is bringing the cavalry," Tony corrected out of habit. "Alright, let's figure out who's coming with us on this."

* * *

When Charlie opened his eyes, he was once again disoriented. He tried to clear his throat, but was hit by a wave of nausea. A bin was put under his chin just as he emptied the little contents of his stomach, and groaned as he laid back.

Colby grimaced as he put the basin in the bathroom. He didn't get paid enough for shit like this. Then again, it was apparently the first time Charlie had come out from the general anesthetic with nausea, which was pretty good.

"Colby?" Charlie asked, seeing for the first time who was in the room with him.

"Hey, Whiz kid," he greeted. "How you feeling?"

Charlie wracked his memory, trying to remember what had happened. The last thing he remembered clearly was talking with Don, but nothing to explain the new pains in his chest. "What happened?" he asked instead.

Colby shifted. He knew that he shouldn't lie to the professor, but wasn't looking forward to explaining everything. "Tell you what," he compromised, "get a bit more rest, and I'll tell you the whole story when you wake up again."

Charlie was about to object, but his body had other ideas, and he felt himself slipping. "Is everyone else alright?" he slurred, trying to keep his eyes open.

The former soldier leaned over his friend. "Everyone's fine," he said clearly. "You just rest up, we might need some of your math magic before this is all over."

"I never thought you guys would willingly listen," he sighed, "to one of my lectures."

"Hey," he protested with a smile. "We listen, we just don't always understand without the analogies you use."

"I'll keep that in mind," Charlie promised quietly, and his eyes finally slid closed.

Colby went back to his chair. He had been honest when he said they might need his help. So far, they had very little connectors from Bray to Pickering, and they needed what they could get. If anyone would be able to find a connection, it would be Charlie.

He looked up when the door opened. He leaned back when he saw that it was only Megan. "How's he doing?" she asked, concerned.

He shrugged. "He woke up for a bit, but he's confused, and doesn't really remember anything. I told him to rest a bit more, and we'd talk later." He looked at her face, which was taut with tension. "What's up?" he asked, unsure if he really wanted to hear this.

"Bray slipped their grasp, just as they were about to arrest him," she told him, anger evident. "We've got the warrant now, and a GPS tracking his location. We need to figure out who's staying here and who's going."

* * *

**Okay, I'm getting, there, huh? And I had to add Tony's alias from the whole Jeanne mess. My reasoning was that as an agent, you never know when you might need a cover, and he already had one.**

**Well, as always, let me know what you think!**


	35. Chapter 35

**You know, I don't think this is ever going to end. Every time I think I have it coming together to be wrapped up, another idea pops into my mind, and I can't seem to help but type it out! I hope you are all still enjoying this story!**

**Disclaimer: Maybe one day this will be mine... Just like I may wake up and find myself with millions of dollars...**

* * *

Colby nodded and stood, when the door opened again, this time it was Harrington. "Agent Pickering is awake, says he's willing to talk with someone on the investigation," he told them, unhappy that there didn't seem to be much he could do right then.

Megan cursed. Once again, they were strapped for time and had too much to do. They needed to get to Bray, but Pickering might have knowledge that they could use. "Thanks, Nathan, one of us will be there in a few," she promised, and he closed the door behind himself. She turned to Colby. "Okay, so Gibbs, Tony, and Ziva are demanding to be there, along with Saks and Fornell. McGee wanted to, but Gibbs said hell no, since he apparently got hurt earlier, so he's coming here for guard duty; says he can still do something to help. Ian, Don, and David are already suiting up."

Colby considered. He wanted nothing more than to go and help. He had been stuck at this hotel for far too long, in his opinion, and needed to be out there doing something.

Megan correctly interpreted his look and nodded. "I'll send two of Harrington's men here, and I'll go and interview Pickering. Keep your cell on in case he tells me anything that you need to know before you get to Bray's location."

Colby nearly hugged her in relief, but restrained himself. "I'll wait here, then, until Harrington's men get here," he told her, and watched as she left.

"What's going on?" Charlie asked blearily from his bed.

Colby whipped around. "Hey, Charlie. We might be ready to close the case, so I've got some people coming over to keep an eye on you for me."

"Don't need guards," he mumbled.

The soldier laughed. "Right, sure you don't," he said with a grin. "Look, it's Harrington's guys. You remember his team, right?"

"Stock fraud case," Charlie remembered, but his eyes were still struggling to open. "Are we in LA?"

Colby chuckled. "No, Whiz Kid, we're still in DC. Wright sent them to help us out just in case."

Charlie nodded and fell back asleep. The nurses had told Colby that he would be in and out for a while. He was on so many drugs that very little of what he said would make sense, which Colby had been hoping for. The guy never did anything embarrassing, and he really wanted black mail material, but he seemed to have a tight lid on anything, much to Colby's disappointment.

There was a knock on the door, and Colby went to answer it. It was Harrington and Alex, the only female on his team. Colby greeted them and briefed them quickly on Charlie and what to expect, giving them strict orders to guard the room as if their lives depended on it.

"Are you kidding me?"Alex joked. "I've seen what Eppes is like when his brother is involved. Our lives DO depend on this."

Colby smirked, but didn't contradict them, since he really couldn't. David had told him about the chewing out that Don had given him after he'd taken the younger Eppes to an active crime scene their first year with Don. Apparently, David still got shivers thinking about it.

He thanked them and took off for the street, hailing a cab and telling the cabbie to get him to the Navy Yard as fast as possible. He took out his cell to let them know he was on his way.

* * *

Megan stopped at the door to Pickering's room. She knew that she had to be careful here. There was no way she was going to let anything this agent said be thrown out on a technicality. They all knew that this had to be airtight when it finally went to court. With all honesty, Pickering's statement could prove more damning than anything, as the rest of the witnesses were terrorists.

She walked in, and found Pickering in bed, looking a bit tired, but otherwise perfectly fine. She knew that he wasn't, that under the blanket was a hole the size of Colby's bullets, but it was patched up now, far more than the bastard deserved.

She pulled a chair to the far wall and sat, never taking her eyes off of the agent. "Alright, Pickering, I hear you have some things you want to tell me."

He sneered at her. "Now, is that the way to go about this?" he asked. "I mean, when you ask someone out, you don't just go right out and ask, do you? You have to charm them."

"I'm not going to be charming you," she told him calmly. "You are a traitor. As soon as your doctor says, I will have you locked up in Sing Sing before you can even blink."

Pickering just shrugged. "Alright, if you don't want any information, I guess it's time for my next dose of pain meds."

Megan smirked right back at him. "And if you don't cooperate, I can get you transferred to a hospital infirmary tonight where you certainly won't be getting any good meds."

The agent looked annoyed, and he sighed heavily. "Very well. I'm guessing you've all found Bray's second email address?"

Megan leaned forward slightly. "Actually, we're a few minutes away from getting Bray himself. So you're window of opportunity to make a deal is shrinking fast."

He thought that through. "Let me talk to Agent Lake," he compromised. "I won't say another word until she's in here."

She stared at him. "You really want to talk to the person who you've betrayed? You've been on Lake's team for a while now, and I guarantee that she won't be feeling too kind with you right about now."

"That's my offer, bring her here, and I'll tell you anything you want to know," he said with finality, leaning back into the pillows propped behind him.

Megan let out a breath of anger and stood, pulling out her cell as she walked out of the room. She nodded to Rob, who was the agent stationed at the door, and dialed the number.

"Lake," came the answer.

"Terry, it's Megan Reeves."

Terry sat up a bit. She had been given mandatory leave after they'd heard about Pickering. She knew that there was a lot more to the situation than anyone had heard, but the team from LA was keeping a tight lid on everything. "Megan, what's going on?" she demanded.

"Look, I can't give you a lot of information over the phone. I was trying to interrogate Pickering, but he won't talk without you in the room. How soon can you get up here?" Megan asked.

Terry was already putting on her badge and holster. "I live twenty minutes from the hospital, I'll be there shortly," she said, and snapped the phone closed. She had no clue why Andy needed her in the room, but she was tired of being left in the dark about all of this, and was ready for answers.

* * *

All of the agents were waiting in the parking lot when the cab pulled up, and Colby was out before it came to a stop, throwing the fare at the cabbie as he got out. He pulled on the vest that David handed him, and Ian helped him strap it on. "What have we got?" he asked.

Ian pulled out a map of the region and unfolded it on the hood of the SUV. "The tracker that Agent McGee left hidden in the backseat shows that Bray is here," he said, pointing. "It's been stationary for half an hour now, so either he found it and ditched it, or he's still there. We know that we can't go in there, guns blazing," he said, eyes dark.

"We don't know how many more Bray might have with him," Fornell said. "We'll set up here, here, and here," he said, pointing. "Agents Edgerton and Gibbs will be set up as snipers here and here, the rest of us will be ready to go in and grab him. If we need more agent's…well…we'll figure that out if we need to."

Everyone nodded, and started going through the typical motions before a firefight: checking their comms, their ammo and back up weapons; Ian and Gibbs were going over their rifles. Tony and Saks would be the drivers, with FBI and NCIS in separate cars. They hurried to go over where each person would be positioned and piled in the cars. They were going with lights, but kept the sirens off. No reason to spook him if they could help it.

* * *

Terry screeched into the hospital parking lot, and went in, flashing her badge. "I need the room for Andrew Pickering," she snapped.

The nurse couldn't wait for these people to heal and get out of the hospital, they were always so demanding. "He's in room 234," she said, waving her hand towards the stairs, seeing that this agent was too impatient for the elevator.

Terry rushed up the stairs and made her way over to the room. She saw Megan standing outside, nursing a cup of coffee and looking like she had been through the wringer. Of course, the past week really had done that to all of the agents. "I'm here," she said, a bit rudely.

Megan nodded, and pulled her into a conference room across the hall. "Alright, look," she said quickly. "I know you're pissed at us for not telling you much about all of this…"

"Not much?" Terry demanded. "You haven't told me anything other than one of my agents attacked two of yours and tried to kill Charlie, got shot, and was in surgery."

"He's a traitor, Terry," Megan said as gently as she could.

Terry exploded out of her seat. "Now wait just a minute!" she yelled.

Megan stood as well, looking her hard in the eyes. She felt for the agent, but they didn't have time for this. "He's admitted to being on the payroll of the person to be behind Charlie's kidnapping, and was going to kill him on orders."

Terry sat down again, but didn't break eye contact. "Who's payroll?"

Megan sighed, and stayed standing. "Hadar Bray," she said quietly, not wanting anyone else to overhear.

Terry froze. "Wait, Bray? My boss? You're telling me that my agent and my boss are working together as traitors?"

Megan nodded. "I'm not sure why Pickering is wanting you to be in the room, but my team is out there right now to arrest Bray, and if there's anything that I can tell them that would help, and make sure they all come back in one piece, I'm going to do it."

Terry studied her for a moment, knowing that Megan was doing the same. The fact that they were both profilers wasn't lost on either. Terry was the first to look down, then at the door. "Alright, let's do this," she said firmly. At the very least, she was going to be there to find out everything this time.

They walked into Pickering's room together, Megan was back in the chair from earlier, and Terry put herself in the corner by the door.

"Alright, Pickering, she's here. Are you ready to cooperate now?" Megan asked.

Pickering didn't look at Megan, but at Terry. "What, not going to say anything?" he taunted. "It must burn you up that you thought you had me pegged, only to wake up and find your worst nightmare come to life."

Megan realized that Pickering just wanted Terry here to brag, to tear her down. She was about to stand and put an end to this, but Terry beat her to it.

She walked over to the bed, very much in control of her movements. She braced her hands on the bed rails, and leaned in close. "You think this is my nightmares?" she asked in a deadly whisper. "My nightmare is to hear the news that one of my agents is dead. It doesn't matter that I have a new team now, my old team still counts. You played a hand in trying to kill more than one of them. Now, you start talking, or I will make this YOUR worst nightmare."

Pickering was amazed at how fast she was able to turn the tables, but nodded. He would never admit it, even on his deathbed, but she scared him a bit right then. "Alright, here's what you need to know," he said, defeated.

Megan wrote down everything the agent gave them: names of other agents on Bray's payroll, how he communicated with them, how he paid them, where he kept his information. It was everything they wanted. She nodded when he finished. "Alright, one last thing," she said. She didn't really care how much he flipped on his boss, he was still a traitor. His help might take the needle out of his arm, but that was about all they could give him. "I have a team on their way to arrest him. How many is he likely to have with him?"

"It'll be him and at least six more," Pickering said. "There's one more thing you should know, though."

Megan waited, but he didn't continue. "What is it?" she demanded.

"There was a reason that Bray wanted that professor, and it wasn't just because he had written he code for Mossad."

"Then why, Andrew?" Terry bit out. She remembered working with Charlie like it was the other day; he was like a little brother.

He scoffed. "Oh come on! He's a certifiable genius, he could do nearly anything he wanted to, and that appealed to Bray, figuring that if he threw enough cash at him, he'd be willing to help them. Then, when that clearly wasn't going to work, he figured that he could be good leverage against the FBI. He did his homework on Charles Eppes," he told them seriously. "He knows about all the consulting that he does, and he knows about the big brother FBI agent. You have to assume that he isn't done with the Eppes brothers yet."

Megan stood, heart pounding. Why hadn't she thought about that? She needed to get to Charlie's room now, at least to reassure herself that he was going to be alright. She nodded to Terry to stay on the room and took off, taking the stairs two at a time to get up the two floors. They had decided that putting the most space between the attacker and victim was best, but now Megan was cursing it. This was taking too long.

She finally got to the hallway, and cursed up a storm when she didn't see Harrington or Alex there. She knew that Harrington was doing rounds, and Alex was supposed to stay on the room. She pulled out her gun, and pushed the door open, and nearly dropped it when she took in the scene in front of her.

* * *

**Wow, am I mean or what? Hehe, sorry, couldn't help the cliffhanger, I haven't done enough on this story, in my opinion. Anyway, I hope you tell me what you think!**


	36. Chapter 36

**SO sorry for the wait, I meant to have this up earlier, but my brain refused to cooperate with writing this update. Don't worry, I don't think that even *I* can drag this out for too much longer ;-)**

**Disclaimer: *sniffles* They still won't give me the characters! *sobs*  
**

* * *

Megan checked each corner of the room, but no one else was there. Harrington was on the floor, his neck at an angle that told her he was already dead, and Alex was bleeding from a shot to the gut with a nasty bump on her temple. Charlie's bed was empty.

She kicked open the door and screamed for a doctor, putting pressure on Alex's stomach with Charlie's blanket. After a team came into the room, she sat back, and looked at her hands. Once again, they were covered in dark red blood, and she was shaking something fierce. How could this keep happening? One thing was for certain: when this was all over, she was going to have a serious talk with Bethesda about upping their security.

Looking over, she saw that Alex was already out of the room, but they were putting a sheet over Nathan's body. She stifled a sob as she watched them wheel him out. She was the one that had sent him to Charlie's room, so she couldn't help but blame herself just a bit, though she knew that Harrington would never think of blaming her for this. Shaking her head, she went to the sink, scrubbing hard at her hands.

Realizing what she needed to do right then didn't help. She tried to clean her hands as best she could, but knew from experience that it would take longer to get all of it out from under her nails. Trying to control the shaking, she pulled out her cell, and made possibly the hardest call of the entire case.

* * *

Ian was putting the car in park the shaking, she pulled out her cell, and made possibly the hardest call of the entire case. under her n when Don's cell rang. He was about to ignore it, but saw that it was Megan, who had probably finished interrogating Pickering. He flipped it open. "You have about one minute, Megan, we're about to get moving on Bray," he said quickly.

"Charlie's gone, Don," Megan said bluntly, knowing that would get his attention fastest.

Don felt ice plummet his insides. "Word choice, Reeves," he forced out, knowing that he was paler than a corpse right then. "Gone as in dead or missing?" he croaked. The car went eerily silent as he said that, and everyone tensed.

Megan cursed herself, knowing she should have worded it better. "He's missing, Don."

Don growled low in his throat, and gripped the phone so tight, it was a wonder that it didn't snap. "Explain. Now." He put the phone on speaker so that everyone could hear.

"Pickering said that he didn't think Bray was done with Charlie, or with you since he knew you two were related. By the time I realized what he meant and made it back to Charlie's room, Nathan was dead, and Alex is in bad shape. Charlie was taken. I'm going to take a look at the security tapes and find out what the hell happened."

"Son of a bitch," was muttered around the car.

"I don't know what time it happened, but by the blood, I must have missed them by a few minutes at most, Don. Whoever took Charlie might be on his way to you guys, so that Bray has a hostage."

"Get Pickering out of there, the last thing we need is for them to eliminate someone else," Don said automatically, the Special Agent in him taking charge while the brother was shattered. "As soon as Alex is stable, get her lifeflighted to another hospital, it might throw off whoever is keeping tabs on us."

"Got it, Don," Megan said. "Pickering also said that he thinks there are about 6 others with him, but he's not entirely sure about that."

"Right, I'll call you when we get things figured out from here," Don told her. "If you find out anything else, call." He snapped the phone closed and looked at the team, who looked as shell shocked as he was feeling. "David, call Gibbs and tell him what we know. Ian, get up there with your scope and let me know what we've got in there," he ordered, and the two hurried to obey.

* * *

When Gibbs got off the phone with David, he was beyond furious. Would this case never end? He briefed his agents as well as Fornell and Saks, who had ridden with them instead. Their reactions were the same, but with one piece of relief, which was that at least McGee hadn't gotten to the hospital yet. He had gone to grab dinner for everyone, but Gibbs called and told him to leave everything and get to the hospital, stat.

They all hurried to pull on their vests, and double check their weapons. Gibbs, like Edgerton, was going to be in position as a sniper, but on the other side of the building. This was one case where they knew they couldn't take any chances.

Within a few minutes, they were all ready to go, and checked through the comms that the others were ready as well. They were entering at different sides of the building to keep anyone from escaping.

"Hold, hold!" Don whisper-screamed through the comm, seeing a white van entering the parking lot and driving quickly inside the warehouse. "Damn, that's got to be Charlie. We officially have a hostage crisis."

Everyone cursed at the timing. The latest kidnappers must have driven like the wind to get there so quickly, though the building wasn't too far from the hospital to begin with, and it wasn't rush hour. "Let's do this right, guys," Colby practically growled, adjusting his grip on the assault rifle he was carrying.

They crept up to their respective doors in near silence, with David and Tony ready to kick them in. "Ready? Three, two, one, execute!" he said, and the doors banged open simultaneously.

Screams of "FBI!" and "NCIS!" filled the air as the seven agents flew through the doors. Later, they would realize that there was Bray, Charlie, and 8 others in the room, but they didn't have the time for a head count right then.

There was instant chaos as everyone went for a gun, and the two snipers picked off anyone who was about to shoot, though neither could get a good shot on Bray, who was holding a gun to Charlie's back. He had positioned himself well, and was covered by enough steel and Charlie's body that no one could get a shot without risking hitting Charlie directly or by a ricochet.

"Hands up, drop your weapons!" the agents were still screaming, not wanting to kill everyone in the room. Only two of the younger ones seemed to realize that it was all over for them, and hurried to obey, getting on their knees. The other six were taken out quickly by both the snipers and the agents in the room.

Ziva and Colby slapped cuffs on the ones that surrendered, and kept them on their stomachs as they resumed their position of keeping Bray on the other side of their guns. David and Tony had made sure to kick weapons away from the ones that were done, double checking that they were, in fact, dead. It wouldn't do to think they were safe and get a bullet in the back for their troubles. Then they, too, were back in position, making sure that they had Bray covered on all sides.

Within only a few moments, the only ones left on their feet were the agents, Bray, and Charlie. Don felt his heart skip when he saw Charlie. His brother was in street clothes, probably to get him out of the hospital with ease, though they were much too large. He didn't seem to have any more injuries other than another bruise on his face, but he was white as a ghost, and shaking like a leaf.

"Charlie?" Don yelled to get his attention.

"I'm fine, Donnie," Charlie said, though it was more of a hiss. He was getting seriously tired of all of this, and just wanted to be on the couch at home.

"I'd think about this for a moment, Agent Eppes," Bray said, digging the gun deeper, causing the professor to gasp in pain. "I know you want your little brother to make it out of this. Just like I want out of this."

"You aren't getting out of this," David spat. "Every officer and agent within 500 miles has your photo and a copy of the warrant. Put that gun down, and you'll at least make it to a trial."

"Yeah, and spend the rest of my life in Guantanamo Bay? I don't think so," Bray sneered. "Now, we can do this the easy way. Just turn around and get back in your cars. Dr. Eppes will be returned to you soon enough."

Don didn't even twitch. "If you think I'm going to leave here without my brother, then you are seriously insane," he said in a dangerously calm voice. "He's coming with me, and you are going to pay for the number of people that you've killed."

Charlie was starting to sag. The stress on his body was seriously getting to him, and he knew it was only a matter of time before he passed out again. He was just grateful that the kidnappers had waited until only a few minutes after his latest shot of morphine. How considerate of them.

Trying to remember something, he blocked out the voices of his abductor and the agents, and focused on what he was going to do.

"Ian?" Don whispered, hoping the snipers might have news for them.

"No shot," Ian said, his finger never moving from the trigger in case the guy moved even an inch, so that he could put a bullet in him.

"No shot," Gibbs echoed, doing the same.

Don was starting to sweat, and his eyebrows snapped up when he saw Charlie's eyes droop as he started to sag.

The pressure of the gun on his back lessened, and Charlie knew it was time to move. He twisted, ignoring the pains in his ribs at the movement, then brought his left arm across his body and grabbed Bray's wrist. With his right elbow, he smashed the guy's nose in, stomping on his foot at the same time, eyes tearing as fire shot up his casted foot. Hadar howled in pain, but years of experience had taught him to never focus on the pain, but to stay in the moment.

With his right hand, the mild mannered teacher snatched the gun away from Bray, turning it so that it was firmly in his palm, barrel towards the threat. When the other man shot his hand to the small of his back and brought out a weapon, Charlie didn't even hesitate. He pulled the trigger.

* * *

**A/N: So, was it worth the wait? I sure hope so! I always knew that I would have Charlie being the hero and saving himself in the end, just wasn't sure how it would happen until I got there. Well, feel free to give me your opinions as always!**


	37. Chapter 37

**I'm honestly surprised that no one yelled at me for killing Harrington, though he really wasn't a main character. I'm glad, though, that you guys still seem to be enjoying the story!**

**Disclaimer: Maybe someday :-)  
**

* * *

All of the agents in the room had heard gunshots before. It was an occupational hazard, really; when you took the position of field agent, you knew that you were going to be in fire fights. That shot, however, was the loudest of any that they had heard before.

Everyone was frozen, staring at Charlie. When the shot went off, they had jumped slightly – hearts almost stopping completely, but then found themselves unable to move. It was Charlie's heavy breathing that spurred Don into motion; he ran over, kicked the gun away from Bray, and knelt to check his pulse, which wasn't there. The bullet had been a perfect shot, straight through his heart, blood pooling around him, eyes wide and unseeing.

Colby was the next to come over. He gently reached across Charlie to take the gun from his shaking hands. "I've got this," he said softly, clicking the safety on and putting it into the evidence bag that Ziva held out for him.

"Eppes, what the hell happened, I can't see shit!" Ian shouted through the link. The steel beams in the warehouse had blocked his view of Charlie and Bray.

Don stood slowly, walking over to his brother. "Bray's down, get back here. Both of you," he said, then took out his ear wig. He nodded gratefully to David, who had grabbed a relatively clean chair, and pressed Charlie into it.

Charlie was still breathing heavily and shaking like a leaf. His injuries were screaming, and he was struggling not to pass out. When his older brother squatted down in front of him, eyes wide and concerned, he knew he had to say something, but his brain seemed disconnected from the rest of him.

"Talk to me, Charlie," Don begged, taking his brother's face in his hands. "You're safe now, we've got you."

"I killed him," Charlie whispered. "He's dead, and I killed him."

David was watching from his spot, and felt his heart break for their consultant. Killing someone was never easy, but the first was by far the worst. Having to come to terms with the fact that you ended someone's life was not something that you were able to get over in a day or two. It was something that you took into you, and remembered so that you would never take it lightly. He still remembered everything about the first person that he killed. The name, age, occupation, crimes, and names of the family were burned into his memory until the day he would die. It killed him that his friend had to go through that now.

Colby looked up when the doors banged open at the same time, letting in Gibbs and Ian. He hurried over to them.

"Granger, what happened?" Gibbs demanded, rifle slung over his shoulder. He looked over at his two agents. Tony and Ziva were both on their phones, finding out who needed to come to the scene. While Bray was down, there was still his network to be wary of, and they didn't want to go through all of this only to risk it later.

"He had a gun to Charlie's back. The kid was able to disarm him, and when Bray pulled out another gun, Charlie shot him."

"Son of a bitch," Ian muttered. Never would he admit it aloud, but he was worried for the youngest Eppes. While he had proven his mettle every day since they'd met, this wasn't just learning something new. This was dirty and gritty and something that professors were never taught how to deal with.

"Let's get these guys in one of the cars," Gibbs suggested, gesturing to the two suspects that had surrendered. "We'll get them back to the Yard."

Not long later, an ambulance screeched into the parking lot, two medics jumping out. They quickly got Charlie onto a stretcher and began firing off questions as to his condition. When they found out how recently the man had been in surgery, they glared at Don, as though it was his fault that his brother wasn't in a hospital bed and getting the good stuff.

What scared Don the most was the fact that his brother had yet to say a word. He was practically comatose; not even flinching when the paramedics sawed off one of the casts on his feet to look at the possibility of rebroken bones.

Ziva had found out from Megan that Alex was in critical condition, and that both she and Pickering had been transferred to Memorial, so that's where the ambulance went next. Don rode with them, trying to get Charlie to say something, but it was as though he was talking to a brick wall. How many times had he thought that, Don wondered, remembering all the times he had tried to speak to Charlie when he was working on a problem, but this took the cake.

* * *

When they got to the hospital and Charlie was wheeled away, he found Megan at the coffee machines. She had a grim look on her face that spoke volumes.

"Who told you?" he asked, accepting the cup of lukewarm drink from her.

"David called," she said softly. When her boss didn't say anything further, she gave him a weak smile. "Look, he's made it through so much already. With all of us, you, and your dad, he'll get through this, too."

Don just shrugged noncommittally. "What did Pickering tell you before…." He couldn't finish the sentence.

She understood, though. "He gave us a lot, to be honest. I think it was more Terry, really. She can be scary when she wants to be." Seeing that he wasn't in the mood to smile, she continued with a professional tone. "He gave us the meeting times for Bray, his second email address that has everything in it, and the dirty agents that he knows about. I've been on the phone with Robin getting warrants for them." She looked at him seriously. "This is going to take a while to work through. There's a lot of information here, and some of it could ruin the Bureau's reputation for a while. Also, Wright has been calling, trying to find out what on earth is going on."

Don groaned as he sat down. This was still complicated, never mind the fact that the biggest player was dead. He pulled out his phone, knowing that it was time to face the music. Secrecy was still important, but not nearly as bad as it was before.

"Wright," the man answered.

"It's Agent Eppes," Don said.

"Eppes, I was beginning to wonder if you and your team had fallen off the earth," Wright snapped. "What exactly is going on over there? I want details this time, not just the bare details you and your team have given me the past two weeks."

"What was the last that you'd heard?" Don asked, sitting down and leaning back. He had a headache to rival all headaches he'd had in the past, but this was important.

"Dr. Eppes was rescued and in the hospital, the two suspects we kept here were transferred to NCIS, which I'm still waiting on an explanation for that, then an agent in the DC branch drugged you, knocked out Sinclair and attempted to kill Dr. Eppes again. I repeat, what is going on over there?" he demanded.

Don started explaining everything; how Bray was involved, the information that they had gotten from Akim and Noam, the information they had gotten from Pickering, Harrington's death, Agent Alex Root being in critical condition, Charlie being kidnapped AGAIN, and Bray's death. "We're going through the list that Agent Pickering gave us so that we can find out any other dirty agents. We're keeping all live suspects at NCIS for now, just to be safe. I'm waiting on word from the doctors about Charlie, though I'm sure that, physically, he'll be fine. He just needs a chance to recover from all the surgeries, and I think he might have re-broken a few bones in his foot when he took out Bray."

Wright was silent for a minute, taking everything in. He certainly had not expected this when he'd received the call from AD Brown and sent his best team out to DC. It seemed as though they attracted trouble wherever they went. "Look, you guys have another week before I expect you back here." Not giving the agent a chance to object, he continued. "This is pretty complicated stuff, and I will ensure that nothing gets swept under the rug, but the DC Bureau needs a chance to handle this in-house. I'll make sure that whoever is put in charge of the investigation is plenty clean. You and your team are on paid leave for the rest of the week."

"Yes, sir," Don said, because really, there wasn't much else that he could say to that. "What about my father, sir? Is he still in the safe house?"

"He was up until this conversation. I'll be sending him out to Regan tomorrow afternoon, which I'm sure my agents will thank me for. I have to say, I understand where you and your brother get your stubbornness from."

Don chuckled at that, knowing it was the truth. They spoke about arranging for Agent Harrington's body to be sent back after the autopsy, and that they would be informed of when the service would be held. They spoke for a few more minutes about logistics, then hung up.

He called Robin to check in with her about the warrants, and just to have someone to talk to. He vaguely mentioned his father's upcoming flight, and knew without a doubt that there would be two more people on that flight that they should expect to see.

* * *

**A/N: The reason I'm having the DC office head the rest of the investigation is more so that this story doesn't drag on for another 30 chapters, since I really don't know how the Bureau would handle a situation like this one. **

**Still, keep those reviews coming, they truly do make my day!  
**


	38. Chapter 38

**I was rereading the last couple chapters, and realized that I had Fornell and Saks with everyone before the bust, but they weren't in the room when Charlie was so... let's just say that they were securing the perimeter? Yeah, we'll go with that rather than I made a mistake :-)**

**Disclaimer: I think you've gotten the idea by now, right?  
**

* * *

When Charlie opened his eyes, he wasn't surprised to see that he was, once again, in a hospital bed and hooked up to several machines. He was felt a flicker of relief to see the morphine drip, as one of the last things he remembered was the shooting pains throughout his body. His memory of the last time he was awake started coming back, and he cringed as he thought about the men who had grabbed him, and what he did to Hadar Bray. He knew he couldn't deal with it right then, though, so he pushed it to the back of his mind, deciding to worry about it at a later time when pain medications weren't fogging his brain.

He started to sit up a bit, when a voice spoke up. "You might want to stay lying down," McGee told him from his seat by the door. He stood up and walked over.

Charlie just nodded at his friend. "Sounds like good advice right now," he commented, and took inventory of his body.

McGee realized what he was doing. "There wasn't much damage," he assured him. "You rebroke two bones in your foot, and there was a bit of infection on your sutures, as you couldn't take your antibiotics. They've started you on a pretty strong one now, though, and they don't expect any complications."

Charlie just nodded, keeping his eyes down. Flashes of how he'd broken his foot again started playing, and he didn't want anyone to see him like that.

Thankfully, McGee realized that he wasn't up for talking about it yet, and stayed quiet.

"What happened to Alex and Nathan?" Charlie asked suddenly. His memory of his second kidnapping was a bit blurry, as he had been woken when he was grabbed, and he didn't remember seeing either of his guards.

The agent hesitated. He knew that Charlie was like him, in that he would want to know, but he knew that it would still hurt. "Agent Root is in critical care, she's in ICU right now. Gunshot to her stomach, and it hit a couple vital organs."

Charlie bit his lip. "And Agent Harrington?" he asked, though part of him already knew the answer.

"Broken neck," he said quietly. "It was immediate and painless." The words were as hollow as they sounded, which he knew.

Charlie took a few moments to collect himself. He really liked Tim, but it had been years since he had let anyone see him break down. When he knew he could talk without his voice cracking, he continued. "Where's everyone else?" he was a bit surprised that Don wasn't in the room, but his brother did have a lot of stuff to do.

"Fornell and Gibbs are with their directors, trying to figure all of this out. Fornell is in charge of the investigation now, so he has Saks doing some of the interrogations of the dirty agents we know about. Gibbs gave all of us a few days off, so I think Tony and Ziva are off doing something together, and Abby is probably at NCIS doing some work." He poured Charlie a cup of water and handed it to him. "Agent Edgerton had to leave for a case in Atlanta. He was actually at the airport when we called him in on this, and your AD told him to get there, and then he could have some time off. David and Colby are working on their reports."

"And Don?" he asked, though he really didn't want to.

"He and Megan left to do something, though he seemed pretty happy about whatever it is. He said he would be back in a few hours." He checked his watch. "Actually, they should be back in less than an hour now."

* * *

Don and Megan were sitting in the SUV, waiting somewhat impatiently. Don was tapping his fingers on the wheel, and looking around with agitation.

"He's going to be fine," Megan said from her seat.

He turned to look at her. "What do you mean?"

She rolled her eyes. "You're worried about Charlie, and how he's going to be after killing Bray. Am I right?"

He made a face at her and turned away.

"I thought so," she nodded. "Look, Charlie is your brother, and he's grown a lot since he started working with you. Yeah, it'll be tough for him to accept it, and you're going to have to watch and make sure he doesn't just suppress this, but he'll get past it."

"What if he doesn't?" Don demanded. "What if he can't handle the fact that he killed someone? He's a math teacher, for crying out loud, this isn't something he was ever trained to handle! I should have done more to make sure that he didn't have to do that!"

Ah, so that's what this is, Megan thought. She decided to go with logic, something that neither Agent Eppes, nor Big Brother Don could argue with. "Okay, you should have done more," she said slowly. "Let's see. Why didn't you make sure that there were guards on his room 24/7?"

He turned to look at her incredulously. "I did, you know that!" he protested.

"Yes you did. So why didn't you leave the hospital yourself so that you could help close the case faster?" she asked him.

He just glared at her, not liking where this was going. "Reeves," he warned.

"Why didn't you agree to send him to FBI training so that he could protect himself? What about working days on end without sleep or food? Or bring in Ian so that we had more help?" She nodded when he bowed his head. "You did everything you possibly could, Don. If you did any less, then he would be dead instead of just upset. He's not going to blame you, so don't you do that. Just be there for him. I'm sure your first kill wasn't a piece of cake."

He just nodded at her. There was a lot that he was going to have to work through, but he wasn't quite ready to let himself off the hook yet. He was the big brother, after all, it was his job to keep the younger sibling safe, and he'd failed miserably in that department. He just wanted to get back to the hospital so that he could talk with him.

"They're here," Megan said suddenly, and opened her door.

Don looked up, and saw his father, Robin, and Amita; the last two he had known to expect though they hadn't said anything about coming along. They each had a bag, and Robin had a briefcase full of papers related to the case. He got out and walked over to them.

"Donny," Alan breathed, pulling his firstborn into his arms, holding him tightly. "How are you? I heard you were poisoned!"

Don hugged him back for a full minute before pulling away. "I was giving a drug, but I was fine. I was only in the hospital for a few hours."

Alan knew that it was likely that he'd signed out AMA, but there was nothing that he could say, it was just who Don was. "Are you alright now?" he demanded.

He nodded. "I'm fine, Dad," he said, and knew that his father would expect nothing else, it was his signature line, after all.

Alan just nodded wearily. "How's Charlie?" he asked, and Amita slid closer so that she could hear the answer.

Don looked at her, and sighed slightly. She had her hair pulled back, which only accented the lines of worry along her face and the heavy bags under her eyes. She had probably gotten less sleep than he had. "Physically, he's doing better," he said diplomatically. "The doctors are saying that he should make a good recovery. He'll be in a wheelchair for a few weeks, and walk with a cane after that. His right foot was pretty damaged, and he hurt it worse today, but they think that with physical therapy, he'll barely have a limp."

Amita made a small whimper, pressing her lips together to keep from making more noise. Megan saw the raw emotion on her face, and pulled her into a tight hug, to which Amita held on with everything, as though Megan was her anchor.

Robin went and gave Don a quick hug, but knew that he didn't really want a lot of physical affection right then. "Why don't we get to the hospital?" she suggested softly. "You can fill us in on everything later." Eventually, she wanted to just spend a few hours with him so they could talk about how everything went down, as she still only knew the barest details, but mostly she just wanted to be there to support him. The past couple weeks had been miserable for him, and she knew that he was far too proud to ask for help.

Don nodded in thanks, and handed the keys to Megan, taking over with Amita as he put an arm around her shoulders. "He's going to be okay," he murmured to the woman he knew was going to be his sister in law one day.

She looked up at him with determination. "Of course he will be," she said firmly.

They all piled in the car with Megan driving and Alan in the front seat, and Don sat between Robin and Amita as they made their way slowly to the hospital, and the person that they all wanted to see.

* * *

McGee was just starting to doze off in the chair when there was a knock on the door. His eyes snapped open, and he put a hand on his gun as he got up and opened the door. His tense posture eased when he saw that it was Don, and an older man that he didn't recognize. "Eppes," he said with a nod as he stepped back to let them into the room.

"Dad, this is Agent Tim McGee, the one Charlie came to visit with," Don introduced. "McGee, this is our father, Alan."

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Eppes," McGee said, shaking his hand.

"Please, call me Alan," he said, and then looked over at his youngest. "How long as he been asleep?" he asked quietly, not wanting to wake him up.

"Only for about half an hour," McGee told him. He and Charlie had talked for a while, and the guilt that he'd been carrying around was much eased when Charlie told him that he didn't blame him in the slightest. The professor had asked him to pass along his thanks to the rest of the team for their help in rescuing him. Tim knew that they would all be stopping by before the LA guys went back, but didn't know when. "I think I'm going to go drag Abby away from her lab, unless you want me to stay," he said, uncertain.

But Don shook his head. "No, you can go. Say hi for me."

Tim just nodded and said farewell to Alan before turning and walking out. It was nice that their role in the case was over. It had been far too exciting for him, to be honest. He was looking forward to the usual work with his team.

Alan wasted no more time sitting down in the chair by Charlie's bed, and Don pulled on over to the other side of the bed. The women had told them to take their time, but Don knew that he would let Amita have some time in here as soon as he reassured himself that Charlie would be okay.

For Alan, he wasn't going to budge for a while, and they both knew it. The sight of his son, laying so weakly and helpless on the bed, brought tears to his eyes, but he was just grateful that both his boys were alive. For right now, that was enough.

* * *

**A/N: I know this one was a bit of a filler, but unfortunately, those are necessary sometimes. Let me know what you think, you know you want to!**


	39. Chapter 39

**Bit shorter, sorry guys. Struggling a bit on how much longer this is going to be, but I didn't want to keep another update from you while I figure it out. Enjoy!**

* * *

A few minutes before visiting hours were over, Charlie woke up again. He was startled to notice his father was there, holding one of his hands and was asleep. Looking over, he saw Amita holding his other hand and smiling at him.

"When did you guys get here?" he asked, keeping his voice low to keep from waking his father up.

"We flew in a few hours ago with Robin. I think that she and Don wanted to give us some time with you," she explained. It was hard to keep the emotion from her voice, but it was such a relief to see him awake, as she'd had countless nightmares the past several days.

Charlie nodded at her, and the slight movement woke his father. "Charlie!" Alan whispered, and gave him a gentle hug. "You scared the devil out of me, son."

The mathematician gave him a forced smile. "I'll try not to do that again."

"How are you feeling, do you need more medication?" he fussed.

Charlie was glad at the bit of normalcy that he felt right then; his father would always be a Jewish mother when it came to his sons' health. "I'm alright, pops. How are you doing? I heard you were in a safe house?"

Alan nodded. "The FBI put me up in a small apartment for a while. I think they were glad to get rid of me; I think I cooked enough for all of LA."

The smile was a bit more genuine this time when he heard that. He knew that cooking was his father's therapy, and with both sons in danger, he would likely have needed to cook quite a bit.

A nurse knocked on the door before walking in. "I'm sorry, but visiting hours are over," she said with s regretful look. She had been given information on the patient, and knew that there would be a single guard at his door, but it would always be an FBI agent, and normal visiting hours still had to be followed, as Charles Eppes was in a regular room now, not in ICU.

Alan looked like he wanted to argue, but knew better. He stood slowly, his joints protesting the same position for so long. He bent down and kissed Charlie on his forehead. "I'll be back in the morning, son," he whispered, and Charlie just nodded at him.

Amita, though, gave him a full kiss on the lips. "I'll be back, too," she promised. "Get some rest, alright?"

Charlie didn't even try to smile this time. "I will," he told her, and the two of them left.

The nurse nodded at Charlie, and took a few minutes to check the machines. "How are you doing in here, do you need anything?"

He just shook his head, not really in the mood to pretend that he was alright now that he was alone. She nodded understandingly at him and left the room. Charlie braced himself as he shifted positions, trying to get into a more comfortable position.

He tried to ignore the hurt that he felt, knowing that Don hadn't visited him yet. It was illogical, he knew. His brother had stayed with him quite a bit before, but now he had a lot of work to get done with transferring the case. He didn't know Fornell very well, but thought that it was good for someone who had been on the case already to be taking it over.

Knowing that he was fighting a losing battle against the pain meds that were trying to get him to fall back asleep, his last though was fear that perhaps it wasn't work that was keeping Don from visiting.

* * *

The brother in question was in a conference room that the hospital and lent to them, and was pouring over files with Robin sitting next to him. "Thanks for bringing all of this," he said offhandedly to his girlfriend.

She rolled her eyes. "I brought it because I knew you would have my head if I didn't," she corrected. "And aren't you technically off the case now? I thought that Wright had told you…"

"I know what he said," Don snapped, still not looking up from the papers. "But until I leave DC, I'm going to help Fornell with what I can."

She studied his face for a few minutes. "You know, there is something else that you could be doing until you leave here," she told him frankly.

He finally looked up from the file. "What are you talking about?" he demanded, not liking where this was going.

She pressed her lips together. "Your little brother is upstairs, and hasn't seen you since he killed Hadar," she said with brutal honesty. "I would think that you would try to be there for him right now. You know what he's going through."

Don slapped the file down. "He has quite a few people that would like to see him right now, and I'm not going to tell our father, or Amita that they can't see him. I'm sure he would rather see them, anyway."

"That's pretty stupid to think," she said, and his brows snapped up. "He probably wants to talk to someone about what he's going through, and you would be the best person."

Don ended the conversation by pulling a few more papers towards him. "I'll see him, I just need some time," he said with finality, and she knew to back down, but she had one last thing to mention.

"All I'm going to say is that I know he's going to be debriefed tomorrow, and he would probably like it if you were there for him," she said, and shrugged, signaling that she was finished with that conversation.

They continued to work in silence for a while until the door opened, and Amita and Alan walked inside. He looked up from the notebook he'd been writing on.

"You guys ready to go?" he asked, putting the files away.

Amita nodded stiffly. She was exhausted, but really didn't want to sleep yet. "Anyone up for dinner? I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

Robin smiled. "That's a good idea. I know a good Italian place around the block; my treat."

Alan immediately protested, and they filed out of the hospital, piling into the SUV. Throughout the drive and the meal, they avoided talking about the case, and instead Alan filled the silence with talk about the physical therapist in LA that he had contacted to help Charlie. He had also contacted his friend, Stan, to build a wheelchair ramp into the Craftsman.

After supper, they made their way to the hotel that they'd been using, and had gotten an extra room. Don and Alan stayed in what had been Charlie's room, and Robin and Amita were down the hall in another room. It was pointless to get separate rooms when they weren't staying for too long, and were only there to sleep.

Alan fell asleep immediately, but Don stayed awake for several hours, thinking about what Robin had said. He knew that Megan was going to be doing the debriefing right after lunch, and had been debating with himself on whether or not to be there. He would leave it up to Charlie, he decided. If his brother wanted him in the room, he would be there. There was the fear, though, that the guilt would choke him up at the wrong moment, and that he wouldn't be able to get through it, himself.

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**Thoughts? Suggestions?**


	40. Chapter 40

**Alright, this one has the debriefing, but don't worry, I'm not going to write ten pages summarizing everything that's already happened :-)**

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The next morning, the four of them grabbed a quick breakfast at a café down the block from the hospital, and then Alan and Amita hurried back to Charlie's room. Robin went to the DC branch of the Bureau, and Don went to find the rest of his team, wondering what they had all been up to the day before.

Wright had already bought plane tickets for the team and Charlie to go back to LA – Alan and Amita would have to pay their own way – for 5 days from then, figuring it would be enough time to get Charlie ready to go. Robin had already talked to her boss and gotten herself attached to the case. As many people in her office didn't know that she was dating the victim's brother, it wasn't considered a conflict of interest just yet, and she wanted to keep it that way, at least until it went to trial.

Don called Megan to see where she was, and found that she was at the FBI, so he dropped off his father and Amita at the hospital, then turned around and went to the office. He found the three members of his team in Edgerton's office, putting the finishing touches on their own reports. Megan's wouldn't be quite finished until after she had debriefed Charlie, but that was in a couple hours.

David was going with them to the hospital to get the stitches taken out of his head from the knock Pickering at given him, and Megan was getting her shoulder and rib looked at. Colby mentioned that he had already promised the NCIS team a good lunch, causing his team to stare at him in awe.

"What?" he demanded.

Don was the first to speak through his suppressed laughter. "Colby, you never buy meals, so we're just surprised, that's all," he said, trying hard to keep his smile from showing.

Colby just glared at them before handing his report to Don; David did the same, but he was chuckling. Don accepted them, knowing that he would put them straight in his bags, not wanting to lose them on the trip home.

To Don, it seemed like the time before lunch flew by, and lunch itself dragged. He and Megan were sitting alone at a small sandwich shop, and he was chewing mechanically. Megan seemed to be moving a bit better physically, but she was more pleased that the stitches had been taken out, and was told that her rib was healing nicely. The last was surprising, given how much work she'd done on the case, but she had been over due for some good luck (getting ribs reset wasn't fun).

Megan knew that Don wouldn't want to talk about the case during lunch, so she made sure to keep the conversation flowing about various things with the LA Bureau that Wright had told her about the last time she'd called. They were packing up to leave when Megan's cell rang. She hurried to answer it, seeing that it was the hospital, and spoke quietly for a few moments before hanging up.

"What is it?" he asked, seeing her sag with relief as she flipped the phone closed.

"It was the doctor who has been working with Agent Root. They said that she's doing much better, and they think that she'll be able to be transferred to a regular room by the end of the week," she said, and saw Don nod. No one had really talked about the loss of Agent Harrington, but they all felt it, and they all carried some measure of guilt for it. She knew better than to talk about it, knowing that they would all be debriefed by the psychology staff when they got back, which was standard protocol when an agent died on a case.

"You ready?" Don asked, pulling out the keys. They still had the SUV they had rented, waiting until the last possible second to return it.

Megan nodded. "Are you going to be in the room?" she asked. She had noticed that Don had yet to visit his brother since the big bust, but was NOT about to say anything. She really liked her job, thank you very much!

Don shifted as he opened the door and walked quickly to the car. "It's up to Charlie. If he wants it to just be you in the room, that's fine. If he wants me in there, I'll stay."

Megan kept her mouth shut and got into the car, pulling out the notepad she was bringing with her. It always helped to have a general outline of the events in case the victim became confused or upset, and she wanted to make this as easy as possible. Charlie was a member of the team, regardless of the fact that he wasn't an agent.

Don parked the car, and they headed to the elevator in silence. They were stopped by a nurse before they could walk into Charlie's room. She glared at them in warning. "He's due for another dose of pain medication in an hour and a half," she told them sternly. "You have until then to ask him questions, but then he needs to rest."

The profiler gave her a beaming smile, designed to put the nurse at ease. "Of course, we're going to try and make this as quick as possible," she promised.

The nurse humphed and walked away, muttering about Feds. Megan adjusted her grip on the notepad and gently knocked on the door. Amita opened it and waved them in. "Hey, Megan," she greeted.

"Hey, Amita, Alan," she said, nodding towards the patriarch. "How are you feeling, Charlie?" she asked, seeing him on the bed, watching them.

He tried a smile, but it came out as a grimace. "I'm doing alright. I just want to get this over with," he admitted.

"I understand." She turned to the other two in the room. "I'm sorry, but…"

"Amita, can I buy you a bad cup of coffee?" Alan asked with a nod to Megan. The female professor nodded, and they walked out, closing the door when they left.

Megan pulled a chair closer to Charlie's bed. "Do you want your brother to be in the room while we do this?" she asked quietly.

Charlie had been thinking about that for a while now, and realized part of the reason Don hadn't come to visit. He chose to keep the moment from being as awkward as he could. "Actually, I think I'd rather it just be you and me," he said, tracing numbers on the bedspread."

Don hid his shock well. He had not thought that Charlie wouldn't want him in the room, especially as they hadn't seen each other. He just nodded at the two of them, and hurried to leave the room.

Pulling out a pen, Megan was thinking the same as her boss, but that wasn't what she was there for. "Alright, where would you like to start?" she asked, looking at the first on her list, which was the attack at the pizza place.

Charlie took a deep breath and though back. He couldn't believe that it had only been two weeks ago that he had arrived in DC. "I had just finished dinner with the team from NCIS: Tim, Tony, and Ziva had met me at Papa Don's, and Ziva had asked if I wanted to share a cab with her. I assumed that she wanted to figure out where she knew me from, even though we had only exchanged a few words in Tel Aviv years ago. I was about to hail a cab when I saw a white van come up near us, an someone dressed in black went up behind Ziva. I woke up when they tossed me in the car, though I pretended I was still out. I knew I needed to keep track of all the turns so that I could somehow let you guys know where I was. When they parked, they realized that I was awake, and knocked me out again. The next thing I remember was waking up in an abandoned house, tied to a chair." For the next hour, he told her everything he remembered. It was harder than he had expected, to tell her the methods of torture they had used on him. He made sure, though, to just give the events, not his reaction to them. It was hard enough without admitting to the cold terror he had felt at certain points, and the utter humiliation at others.

His memory of certain events, like when he had been taken from the hospital were fuzzy at best, and he wasn't about to fudge the details, just told it how he remembered.

Megan stayed quiet for most of it. She was experienced enough to know that if she interrupted, it would be hard for the victim to continue. It was difficult, though, because this wasn't some random victim, this was Charlie. She could tell how much effort it was taking to tell her everything, and she was able to see in between the lines to discern the emotions he'd felt.

It didn't take long for her to find out why he hadn't wanted Don in the room: he was ashamed. It wasn't that surprising, given how much time he spent with the team; they were all trained to handle themselves during crises. It seemed like he was struggling not to blur the lines for himself: he was a professor, but he spent more time with federal agents than with other mathematicians. He felt responsible, and didn't want his older brother, whose approval was something he had always worked for, to see him as being weak.

She forced herself to stay in the moment, and continued writing everything he told her, the pen flashing across the notepad in her shorthand she used for interviews. She shifted slightly as she realized that they were at the point that no one else really knew much about. "What happened after I sent Agents Harrington and Root here?" she asked.

Charlie bit his lip. "Nathan said that he would stay in the room, and Alex would be on the door," he said, swallowing past the lump in his throat. "There was a knock on the door, and two men came in, dressed as doctors, saying that they needed to talk to me alone. Nate refused to leave the room, I guess he figured something was wrong. One of them kicked him in the stomach, and the other started pulling me out of the bed. I heard a crack from Agent Harrington," Charlie whispered, going pale as he remembered the details, "and then Alex came in. The one who killed Nate pulled out a gun with a silencer and shot her. The one who'd grabbed me pulled out a syringe, and the next thing I know, I'm in a van, and everyone was yelling. They said that they were handing me over to someone else as leverage, but they wouldn't mind killing me if I caused problems. It was only a few minutes drive from then until we got to the building where you guys were waiting. I spent the time trying to remember everything that I had learned from that FBI training course I went to a couple weeks ago." He finished telling her everything that they already knew, once again keeping out his internal reactions.

When he was finished talking, she pulled out the prepared photo lineups that they had gotten ready the day before, and had him pick out everyone that he could remember. A few of them were easy for Charlie to ID, and he did his best with the others. When they were finished, she put everything into a file and put it on the counter behind her, smiling at him.

"You did really well, Charlie, this helped us a lot," she assured him. She was honestly a bit surprised at how well he'd held his composure throughout all the talking. Putting the folder and pad on the counter behind her, she looked closely at him. Her skills as a profiler came in handy as she studied him: his face was pinched, though that could have been the pain, his hands were shaking slightly, and his eyes were haunted.

"Thanks, Megan," he said quietly, picking at the blanket. "Have you heard when I'll be able to go home?" he asked.

"A few more days," she told him. "We already have tickets to leave, courtesy of the FBI. We just need you to rest up a bit before we leave. Your father has found a physical therapist to help you out, and I heard that Larry took over your classes for the semester, but made sure that you have a couple classes next term."

Charlie just nodded, keeping his head bowed.

Megan thought for a moment, then decided to go for it. She purposefully took off her badge, making sure that he saw her put it with the files. This was going to be a talk between friends, not official. Seeing him look at her, confused, she regarded him seriously.

"If you want, I can put you in touch with a few therapists I know of who can help you when we get home," she offered. Seeing that he was about to object, she stopped him. "I don't want you to answer right now, it's just something to think about. There's no shame in knowing when you need help. I know that I couldn't go through what you did unless I had some help."

He thought about what she said for a few minutes, then nodded. "I'll think about it," he agreed.

"Alright, last thing, since I'm sure the nurse is about to kick me out," she said, and mentally clapped when she saw a genuine smile on his face. "I think you should talk to your brother about this."

That time, Charlie shook his head quickly. "He has enough to deal with right now, I don't want…."

"He's your brother," she interrupted gently. "His first priority will always be you, and you know that. I'm not going to push you on this, but it's something else I want you to think about. He understands better than you think he will, and I know it would be good for both of you." She gave his hand a slight squeeze before standing. "Do you want me to send anyone in?"

Charlie didn't need to think about that. "I'm pretty tired," he confessed. "I think I just want to sleep for a while."

Megan nodded, having expected that. "I'll send the nurse in," she told him, and left. She had to finish her report, but that could wait. She just wanted some company right then to get her mind off everything she had heard, or she would storm the Navy Yard to exact revenge.

* * *

**I thought about adding a bit more to the end of this chapter, but figured this was as good a place as any to end it. Hopefully the next update will be just a few days, fingers crossed. Feel free to let me know what you thought!**

**11-15-12  
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**Made a mistake in the debriefing, and it was bothering me, so I fixed it  
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	41. Chapter 41

**Yay, another update. Sorry again for the wait, but work has absolutely sucked lately, plus I'm trying to go back to school in January. I hope this makes up for it, though!**

**Disclaimer: Really?  
**

* * *

For the next few days, Charlie spent a lot of his time in quiet contemplation. Everyone understood, so they didn't press him to talk. Charlie had asked to speak with Megan again, and told her, to her surprise, that he wanted to speak with one of the therapists that she had recommended. She gave him a list, saying that she knew all of them, and they were chosen because of their specialty with victims of PTSD. Later that day, he had called each of them, and scheduled an appointment with one for the day after he got back home.

He also worked hard, both with the very little physical therapy that the doctors were allowing, and catching up with some of his work. He knew that Larry had taken over his classes, but he still had work to do before the end of the term, and he didn't want to fall behind. His physical therapy was painful, but he was not about to bow down. His feet were the biggest concern, but they were also working on his shoulder, which was doing much better, but they were making sure that there would be no issues with it down the road.

All in all, it was hard for Don to find a time to talk to his little brother. He knew that he couldn't put it off any longer, when it was the day before they were scheduled to fly back to LA. Wright had called a few times for updates, but there wasn't much the team could give him, as they weren't on the case. Harrington's body had already been sent back to his family, and they would be informed of the services when they got back as well.

Finally, though, Don sucked it up. He knew that it was time to talk to Charlie, though that didn't stop him from being nervous. It was one thing to talk with his fellow agents about things, but this was his brother, the one person that Don had known since birth, and had sworn to protect. It was also the one person that he had failed above all others. He wasn't sure why Charlie hadn't been wanting to see him, other than the possibility that he blamed his brother for the events that brought them here.

Though it was hard, he forced himself to go to the hospital room, knowing that his dad, Amita, and Robin weren't going to be there, as they were out at dinner. He glanced in the room, and saw Charlie and Tim looking over Charlie's laptop, talking in the computer language that he didn't understand. He knocked gently, noting the way that Charlie jumped a few inches and paled before he realized who it was.

"Hey, Don," he breathed, hoping that no one noticed his reaction.

McGee could feel the tension in the room, so he stood. "Thanks for the help, Charlie," he said, packing up his things. "That'll help me with the firewalls a bit more. What time does your flight leave tomorrow?"

"I'm getting discharged around 4, and I think the flight leaves at 7:30," he answered, saving the work and closing the laptop. "Are you guys going to send us off in style?" he teased.

McGee chuckled. "I don't know about that, but we'll be here. Take care." With a slightly nervous look at Don, he made his escape.

"How you doing, buddy?" Don asked.

Charlie tried not to wince at the nickname. He didn't know why he felt so nervous around his brother, but, like Don, he knew he couldn't run from this anymore. "Ready to get home," he responded, shifting his weight slightly. He wasn't in the bed, but in a slightly more comfortable chair, as he hated hospital beds. "So, no one's told me anything about the case. What's been going on?" he asked, gesturing towards McGee's deserted chair.

Don sat down, and considered his words. "To be honest, I don't know much. Wright ordered all of us off the case, but I know that Fornell and Saks have been busy with interrogations, and Robin's helping the local DA with the paperwork." He held up the bag he had brought in. "Everyone else is at dinner right now, and I thought I would spare you the horrors of mystery meat."

Charlie accepted the bag with a look of surprise and started pulling the to-go boxes out. "Caesar salad, chicken sandwich, and fries," he said with a nod of approval. "Thanks, bro."

Don smiled. Maybe this wasn't going to be as hard as he had worried. He pulled out his own food and passed over a bottle of water before he dug into the food.

They ate, mostly in silence, and the tension seemed to dissipate with the familiarity of eating together. Both were lost in their own thoughts and fears, but mostly they just enjoyed the company and the fact that the case was, indeed over.

Charlie was the first to break the silence. "So, I talked with Colby, and he's going to help me join the dojo he trains at."

Don started. He knew that Charlie wasn't exactly a sloth, but the only physical activities that he had seen his brother at were biking, hiking, and playing basketball. Jujitsu, which was the dojo he was talking about, was definitely a step up. "What prompted that?" he hedged.

Charlie looked at him incredulously. "Wouldn't it put your and dad's minds at ease if you knew that I could defend myself a bit better?" he retorted.

The agent shrugged slightly. "To be honest, I was thinking that you wouldn't want to work with me, after all this."

Taking a deep breath, Charlie considered that. "There's always something that I can help with. Unless you guys don't want me there anymore…"

"Of course not!" Don exclaimed, some of the pieces coming together. "The last few years, I've loved having you work with us, but I'd understand if you were hesitant. This was huge, and it should never have happened."

Charlie sighed, realizing what was going on, and part of him wanted to laugh. He should have seen it earlier, but he blamed the drugs he was on. "Don, I don't blame anyone for what happened, other than the people who did it," he said with complete honesty. "I know you, and I'm sure that you drove everyone insane trying to find me. I just wish there was more that I could have done to help myself, which is why I was thinking of joining Colby's dojo."

Don bit his lip. He knew that his brother would say something like that. "You did everything you could," he returned. "You didn't give up information that would have led to the death of the director of Mossad; you kept yourself alive until we could find you; and you used the training that you've gotten to take down a traitor. There isn't anything else that you could have done, and you did just as much as any of us could do."

The brothers chuckled. It was like pulling teeth to get them to talk about emotions; it was just how they were. However, once everything was out in the open and talked about, they all felt better.

Charlie sat back a bit. "So, what's going on with you and Robin?" he demanded, trying to change the subject.

"What are you talking about?" Don demanded, getting a bit defensive.

"Well, I hadn't heard anything about you two getting back together, and then she shows up. Now, I know that I'm pretty great and all, but I don't think she came here just to see me."

Don blushed, causing Charlie to smirk a little. "Hey, two can play that game! What's the latest with you and a certain Indian mathematician? I rarely see her out of your sight."

The nurses came in moments later to break up the pillow fight that had been started, glaring at Don for getting their patient riled up. Don cowered slightly at the verbal lashing that they gave him, and the threats of calling security.

* * *

The next afternoon the NCIS team plus Ducky and Abby met the FBI team, Charlie, Alan, and Amita at the airport. Robin was staying a bit longer to help the DA with the backlog of paperwork pertaining to the case. Everyone knew that the team would need to come back for the court case, but that was still a ways off.

The goodbye was anything but tearful. Everyone from LA was ready to go home, and NCIS was ready for things to get back to normal.

Don and Gibbs shook hands, Tony and Colby joked about something that no one else cared about, Abby flirted a bit more with David, Megan and Ziva exchanged a quick and slightly awkward hug, and Ducky made sure that Alan had the numbers for the right doctors and physical therapists.

Abby chuckled when she saw the look McGee was giving Amita, and went up to him when she saw that the female professor was out of earshot. "I think she's taken," she whispered.

Tim jumped slightly, and started stammering. "No, I don't think that she's… I mean, you know that I'm not…"

She patted his arm. "Your secret's safe with me, Timmy," she assured with a grin, then skipped off to say farewell to Alan, who reminded her a lot of Ducky.

Charlie made his rounds, thanking everyone for their help, before Ziva cornered him.

"Thank you," she said honestly. "You saved my father's life, and for that, I owe you."

Charlie flushed slightly. He was leaning heavily on his crutches, having refused a wheelchair, which had infuriated the doctors. He fiddled slightly with them. "I was just doing my job, I can't exactly…"

"You were courageous," she interjected with a smile. "Director David has told me that, should you wish to visit Tel Aviv again, he would be honored to thank you in person."

To that, Charlie didn't know what to say. Instead, he just nodded, and she squeezed his shoulder in understanding before walking away. Charlie took a moment to look around at the eleven people that were gathered as they said their goodbyes. It was hard to fathom that nearly all of them had met at one point before this, and then were all gathered together.

"Ready, Chuck?" Don asked, walking over.

"Sure, Donald," Charlie said, rolling his eyes, knowing that he would never break his brother of the habit of calling him that. He leaned down to grab his bag, but David stopped him.

"I've got it," he said, picking it up.

"Let's go home," Amita said, giving Charlie a quick kiss. She was still reeling from the relief that Charlie was alright, and wanted to make sure that he stayed that way.

The seven of them – Alan, Amita, Charlie, Don, Megan, David, and Colby – walked towards security, pausing one last time to wave goodbye to the rest of them. While it had been horrific, it was always nice to have met new friends.

* * *

"Alright, let's get back," Gibbs barked.

"Got it, boss," McGee said, turning back to the two SUVs that they had. Tony had agreed to return the one that the LA team had rented so that they could take it to the airport. It had been crowded enough with two of them.

"So, Probie, when are you going to LA?" Tony asked with a smirk. When he saw McGee's expression, he laughed. "I heard you and the other geek talking about your visit. So, when is it?"

"In a few months," McGee said.

"As long as you don't get kidnapped there," Gibbs warned as he opened the door to the SUV.

The agents laughed, and Abby ran over to McGee. "When are you going?" she asked with a secretive smile. "I think I'd like to see Special Agent Sinclair again."

McGee smirked a bit, though he hid it well. "You can't go, Abby."

She glared at him. "What is that supposed to mean?" she demanded.

"It's the same weekend as the Brain Matter concert you were talking about," he said, and watched as her face fell.

"What? Can't you switch it? Gibbs!" she whined, going over to the boss.

* * *

**Don't worry, I'm going to have one more chapter before it's over! I'll do a bit longer thanks in that one, but I wanted to thank all of you for the reviews I've gotten lately, they mean a lot to me!**

**I hope the conversation with Don and Charlie went alright. I'm not great with talks between those two, as their relationship changed a lot during that season, but I think it went alright. If you have constructive criticism, let me know :-)  
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	42. Chapter 42

**Disclaimer: If it isn't mine yet, it never will be  
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**There will be spoilers for the beginning of NCIS season 6, and beginning of Numb3rs season 5, but they are a bit vague, not overly specific.  
**

* * *

**One year later**

Tim fidgeted slightly with his carry-on bag as he walked through the gate at LAX. He had hoped to visit Charlie before now, but it hadn't been possible. It wasn't long after they had closed Charlie's case that Jenny had been killed, which was hard on all of them. Then Vance had taken over and split the team, and then they all were able to come together again. So much had happened over the past year that he still found it hard to believe that it was only a year before that everything with Charlie and the LA team happened.

"Are you alright, Timothy?" Ducky asked, holding his bag over his shoulder. The team had debated who would go with him on the trip, and Ducky won, much to everyone's surprise. Abby had been upset, but she had used the last of her days off a few weeks prior to the trip.

"I'm alright, Ducky. Do you see him?" the agent asked, scanning the crowd for the familiar face.

"I don't know… oh, he's right there!"

McGee looked over and smiled when he saw the professor, and the two walked over. He was pleased to see that, other than the fact that he was leaning on a cane, his friend looked much better than the last time they had seen each other. "Hey, Charlie," he said.

"Hey, McGee," Charlie greeted. He had started calling him by the last name after his trip and hearing everyone refer to him that way. "It's good to see you, Dr. Mallard. My father is looking forward to seeing you again."

"I am, as well. And please, call me Ducky. How have you been healing?" he asked as they made their way to Charlie's hybrid. McGee loaded the bags, and they all got in the car.

"I'm doing a lot better," Charlie answered. "I still have physical therapy for my leg; there's some muscle damage from the bullet, but everything else is pretty much healed. I only use the cane when I'm out of the house." Then he laughed. "Though, my students have said that it makes me look more 'scholarly'."

The other two laughed, and they made their way to the hotel that they were staying at. "So, do you have plans for dinner?" McGee asked.

"Actually, I was hoping you would come over to the house. My father already invited the team, so it's a bit of a party tonight."

"That sounds wonderful," Ducky said with a smile. "It'll be nice to see everyone again."

"Actually," Charlie said with a sad smile, "not everyone is going to be there. Megan moved up your way a few months ago, so we have a new agent: Nikki, and sometimes Liz is there, but you haven't met them yet." He really did miss the profiler, but he understood the toll that the job took on everyone, and didn't begrudge her the chance to do something new with her life. "On the plus side, Edgerton is back in town, he's helping us out with another case."

McGee and Ducky nodded in understanding as Charlie parked the car. He gave them a paper with his address on it, and told them the time for them to be there, and left.

As he drove, he thought about how much had changed since his kidnapping. Megan had left, he had lost his clearance, and then gotten it back. He hadn't been cleared by the physical therapist to start at the dojo, but Colby had volunteered two hours a week to help train him. The agent had said that the understood and respected Charlie's desire to learn self defense, so they worked on blocks, punches, a couple different kicks that didn't strain his right leg too much. He would never be as proficient as Colby was at Jujitsu, but he was better able to defend himself. David had even started taking him to the shooting range a couple times a month, and Charlie learned how to shoot different types of guns.

Charlie knew that all the training worried Alan, but he couldn't help it. DC had changed him, and he knew that he would learn and grow; it was just part of who he was as a person. The therapist that Megan had helped him get was helpful. He was still going to sessions, but they were less frequent now that his nightmares had been decreasing in frequency. The doctor had suggested medication, both for depression and for sleeping, but Charlie refused them, as the pain pills were bad enough. He had never liked the idea of taking medication, as it interfered with his ability to think; which would be a bad thing, as he was back at CalSci and teaching his normal schedule, plus helping with Don's cases.

Don had tried to get him to stop with the cases, but Charlie had fought him on that. Still, it was a bit different than before, especially right after they had gotten home. Don hadn't let him go to any crime scenes, even if they weren't active at the time. If the professor left the building, he had at least one agent, usually either Colby or David, with him at all times. Charlie understood, and didn't argue. No matter how much he didn't blame his brother, Don did. It was a work in progress, and they were all trying.

Without realizing it, he had been parked in the driveway for a few minutes. Shaking his head slightly at himself, he got out of the car and went into the garage, his favorite thinking place. When he started walking in, he smiled.

Amita was there, working on her own research on her laptop. She had officially moved in a few months after their return, and he couldn't have been happier about it. She wasn't clingy, as that wasn't her, but she still liked it better when they were in the same room, even if they were just working on their own work.

He walked up behind her and pecked her on her cheek. She turned with a smile, and gave him a fuller kiss. They both jumped when they heard Don clear his throat. He was smirking at them.

"Dad wants your help getting things ready for tonight," he said, unable to hide the laughter from his voice.

Charlie glared, but his brother didn't back down. Finally, he sighed, gave Amita a last quick kiss, and went into the kitchen to help out a bit. There would be a lot of people over, so he wanted things to be great. In a way, it was his thanks to everyone.

* * *

At six exactly, the doorbell rang, and Robin went to answer it, smiling at the team. Colby, David, Nikki, and Liz walked in. The women had brought wine, and the men had brought beer; they quickly set the drinks on the table, and started talking. The bell rang a few minutes later, bringing Ian, who just grinned at everyone. Finally, Tim and Ducky arrived, and they had brought a dessert for everyone.

David drew McGee into a conversation about the new director of NCIS, being slightly curious about it, and Alan spoke warmly with Ducky, who he'd grown a soft spot for. It was nice to find someone so similar, but quite different at the same time. Edgerton and Charlie talked about his practice with David at the range and his training with Colby, who was talking with Amita, and Liz and Nikki were laughing at something that he'd said.

Alan announced that he had set up a table in the backyard, since there were too many people for them to be comfortable inside. They all filed outside, still conversing, and made themselves comfortable, passing the dishes around the table.

When everyone was ready to start eating, Charlie stood and clinked his glass to get their attention. Everyone quieted, and looked at their host.

"I'm glad that all of you were able to come over for dinner," he started, and felt Amita squeeze his hand in support. He looked at Liz and Nikki. "I know that you guys weren't on the team last year, but I just wanted to take a moment and thank all of you. Not many people can say that they have so many people who are willing to be there for the rescue of a friend, but also for the recovery. I know that it hasn't been smooth sailing for all of us this year." He suppressed a shudder as he thought of all the times he had blown up at Colby during training because he felt physically weak, or when he would get upset during a case that reminded him too much of his time in DC, and have to leave the building. "No matter what happened, you were all there for me, and that means more than I can say. So," he reached down and picked up his wine glass, holding it up high, "to friends, both at home and in our hearts, who are willing to be there for the good, the bad, and the ugly." He raised his glass another inch, then took a sip.

Everyone followed suit, and there was silence for a moment, then Amita clapped softly. She knew that he could be romantic when he wanted to, but his toast was so heartfelt that she could feel tears gather in her eyes. Everyone else at the table joined the clapping, but only briefly, as very few of them were the 'wear your heart on your sleeve,' type people.

"That was well said," Ducky said warmly.

With that out of the way, everyone dug into the meal, which was more of a feast. Alan never could control himself in the kitchen, especially when it came to thanking people. Liz and Nikki knew about what happened, having heard everything in full detail from the rest of the team. Nikki was surprised at how well Charlie was doing, considering what he'd been through, but Liz wasn't. She knew Charlie a bit better, and wasn't shocked in the slightest, knowing that he was the 'go all or go home' type person. So she wasn't surprised, but she was pleased, having long since – like the rest of the team – considered the professor a younger brother.

They all listened to Robin, who had chosen that moment to mention that the trial was scheduled to start the following week, and gave a tentative schedule to the various people that would have to testify. Charlie was the obvious one, as was Alan; Don, Matt, Ziva, Gibbs, Fornell, Abby, and Ducky were lined up for their work on the physical evidence gathered, though some of them might not have to, as some of it overlapped. Terry and Megan would both be there, but they were already in DC, so they had it easier in terms of travel.

Charlie nodded as he listened to his brother's girlfriend. He was a bit worried about the trial, but there was more than enough evidence to put the main players away for a very long time. He knew that everything with finding the dirty agents was going well. He had subscribed to a DC paper to keep up on the news, and was pleased to see that it was going well.

With all the serious talk finished, Colby cracked a joke to break the tension, and it worked as everyone laughed and continued eating. They were all loud, and messy, but that's what made it home. At the end of the day, that was all that mattered.

**Fin**

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**I'll start by saying thank you to EVERYONE! You guys were great, especially since this was my longest story to date. The reviews, subscriptions, favorites, and views were always there to brighten my day, and eventually helped me finish Past Come Back to Haunt. Charlie's speech was meant to be towards all of you as well.  
**

**In honor of Numb3rs, I figured I would share some stats of this story for you all:  
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**Words: 84,382  
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**Chapters: 42  
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**Followers:72  
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**Favorites: 40  
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**Reviews (for now *wink*): 82  
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**And a million virtual cookies for everyone!  
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**P.S. I have a much shorter Numb3rs story going up, so check it out!  
**


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